Halloween

Halloween or "All Hallows Eve" is, or was, an ancient celebration on the night before All Saints Day.  The folks would have a party, remembering those who have gone on before.  This mutated into costumes, ghosts, goblins and the like.

 All Hallows Eve is about remembering those friends whom we have lost.  It is not the devil's day.  The devil does not have, does not get a day.  He is a subservient, created, lower level being.

On Halloween, have fun with the kids at your door, but remember your friends who have passed.  Joel Horsch, Dan Horn, Bob Gilstrap, Harry Crowel, and many many others.  

Let us give thanks for their lives.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

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Brian Swanson

Brian Swanson is one of the Pastors at Woods Chapel.  He is a fantastic guy.  He is one of my favorite humans.  I got this email from him to the congregation, it was just too good not to share.  Here it is.

It’s almost Halloween. We are 17 days out! This means that I still have yet to decide on a costume, which also means that it will probably end up being really lame, even if I do decide to dress up. It’s not that I live for Halloween costumes. It’s more that my kids want me to have fun *with* them. I don’t want to miss out on building that memory with them, so I better get on that!

Along the lines of my girls wanting to share Halloween fun with me, it sparked this question: How often do I miss opportunities to build those memories and moments with the ones I care about the most? What about extending that beyond just my family? How often do I miss moments to be there for someone else? It often only needs to be something small, like an encouraging text or quick phone call. Who is someone you could touch base with today?

If my comment about how Halloween is almost here resonates with you, this might, too. Once Halloween gets here, it’s a short walk before we are celebrating Thanksgiving. And then you blink and Christmas is here. Then, all of a sudden, it’s another new year and thoughts go through our minds like “What are my new year’s resolutions going to be? I haven’t even thought of any yet!!!”

“Where does the time go,” we ask ourselves. “If only I had more time,” is a prayer I often toss-up to Jesus.

Time is one of our most precious resources and it’s one of the only ones that are non-renewable. It’s a gift because no matter how we use our time, we make a choice to say that how we spend it is more important than the ways in which we don’t. What if we realize that it doesn’t always take gobs of time to make a difference? Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes a simple text is enough to make a difference. Sometimes it’s a couple of hours of listening to someone or helping out in a way that might stretch you.

I was reading out of Luke 11 today when I came across this line from Jesus. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” It struck me that I might be the answer to someone’s prayer who I could help by opening a door. Or even just pointing to where the door exists!

What about you? Can you be the answer to someone’s prayer? Would you be willing to invest in a little bit of your most precious, non-renewable resource, in order to make a difference for someone?

That is some good stuff.  Thank you Brian.  Love you!!!

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

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To learn something new

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.  That may be true, but we humans are never to old to learn.  Two years ago I learned that if you sprayed a fly with Windex, he could not fly and they are easier to kill.  That is a great life hack.

I was watching a movie the other day and one of the characters was challenged with change.  The response was kind of like, "Change is too painful, the price is too high."

I understand this thinking.  Great big giant life changes can be frightening to us.  We fall into ruts and we get comfortable with our "ways."  But sometimes, we need to overcome our fears and take a leap of faith.  There may be something better for us out there.  

We never change until the pain of staying the same overrides the pain of the change.  Is it time for a change in your life?  Choosing to change may open up a beautiful day and a better future for you and yours.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

wheel chairs

I have never wanted anything to do with wheel chairs.  I think it was 2013 I had blown out my knee right before one of our trips to Nicaragua with the Rainbow Network.  Tim Wiseman put me in a wheel chair and pushed me through the Houston and Managua airports.  Although it was embarrassing, I appreciated his help.

No one ever wants to be handicapped.

So fast forward to a few weeks ago.  Cathy and I were in Wine Country with old friends Roger and Kathy Grout from Princeton and Kathy Christensen from Woods Chapel days.  My knee blew out.  Not my bad knee, but my good knee.  It was so tender.  When  I dropped them off at St. Superey winery on highway 29 in Napa, I went to the CVS to buy crutches.

I don't know what to think.  Maybe a double knee replacement is in my future? 

Anyway, the waiting for someone to help me, to push me, to carry something for me is nothing that I am used to.  It gave me an appreciation for being able to walk.

The battery operated go-carts shopping carts at the grocery store are fun too!!!

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

the good will rise

Imagine a world where you have no worries and no fears.  I'd say that you would be happy, wouldn't you?  In fact, for most people, their natural state is happy, we just get bogged down by worry, fear, guilt and such.

What if you could eliminate the worries. the fear and the guilt?  Although we can't always make the problems and issues go away, we can control whether or not we worry about them.  We can control if we are fearful or not.

You can be in pain and suffer, or you can be in pain and not suffer. When we lose our self in God, we are in effect, laying down the burdens.  When we lay down the burdens, we let go, and joy is the natural result.  Much like cutting off the weights that hold down a balloon, when we let go of our worries, joy will rise to the top.

This is a huge paradigm shift.  At least it was for me.  But I do believe that it is key to seeing the good.  Your problems will be here tomorrow, so don't worry about them today.  Release yourself from them so that your soul can fly up to God in joyful living.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

The innermost hurts

There are hurts that come along that hurt in the innermost places.

They are hurts that I find hard to talk about.

I replay the situation.  I ignore the pain.  I self -medicate.  I go back in the past in my mind and try to resolve them.

I think that we all have deep hurts.  

Hug a friend.  Spend time with someone that makes you happy.  Learn to bear the load of pain.  Try to focus on the joy.  There are so many other parts of life that are beautiful.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

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A Million Dollars

A couple of days ago I had dinner with an old friend.  They said something to me that I found to be so profound and so powerful.  So kind.

He said, if it all goes to hell and we are begging on the street corner, and all I have left is you and me, I will be fine.  You and me, that will be enough.

It is nice to know that you matter to people.  Let someone know today how much they mean to you.  You can make them feel like a million dollars.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022. If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

compliments are nice

I have told you that I take chocolate to my bank tellers.  I have also started taking a sleeve of Snickers or Twixt for the flight attendants when I get on an airplane.  They love it.

I give them chocolate and I tell them how much I appreciate their work.  I tell them that I read the terrible stories on the internet about what they have to put up with.  I thank them again.

On my way to KC, one of the flight attendants gave me this card.

We all like a compliment.  It made me feel great.  With a little effort we can all make others feel like they matter.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022. If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

No response

I asked my wife a question.  I got no response.  I asked again.  Nothing.  I looked up and saw that she was completely engulfed in a news clip on the TV.

I don't fault her, we have all done that.  Been so lost in one thing that we could not pay attention to something else.

But what if we are engulfed in the wrong things?  What if we are lost in self-pity or anger or resentment.  What if we are so lost in staying up with social media that we can't pay attention to real people?

There are 1,000 ways that we can get off track and stop paying attention.  Becoming "aware" is the process of stopping your brain from doing what it does.  Awareness happens when we step back and contemplate what is really happening around us.

When we can do that, we begin to see people.  We begin to value them.  We begin to understand and value the views of others.

May we get better at paying attention.  May we get better at waking up.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

More on beliefs

More on beliefs. Early Christianity had many versions. What emerged as “orthodox” is the version that came out of the Roman church. The Roman version was selected as correct because the Emperor Constantine was of that flavor.  All other versions were labeled as heretical. Followers of other versions were converted or killed and their books burned.

Nestorians believed that Jesus had distinct human and divine persons rather than a mix or joining of the two natures.

Arians believed that Jesus was not eternal from the beginning but was created by God and thus not co-eternal. There are groups that still believe this today.

Ebionites believed that Jesus was a man who was adopted to become the Son of God. There were many adoptionist groups and they are still around today.

Docetic Christians believed that Jesus did not have a real body but was more like a phantom. He only appeared to be human.

Montanists believed in new prophetic revelations. [the church’s doctrine was not complete but the Holy Spirit could bring new revelations.]

Marcionites believed that the God of the Old Testament was a different God than the God of the New Testament.

Monophysites believed that Jesus did not have a human nature, only divine.

Gnostics believed in a special secret knowledge that was only revealed to them. You had to have the special knowledge to be “in.”

You can see that some of these outlawed beliefs are alive and well today. My point in writing all of this is that there is no reason to argue or be concerned about methods of baptism, the virgin birth, if Jonah really got swallowed or just about anything that Christians and Pastors insist that you believe. There is no reason for any church to insist that their way is right or “this is what you should believe.”

When all of those trappings are rejected, what is left is the opportunity to follow Jesus into a life of love. What a relief!!! We don’t have to worry anymore about getting it right or believing the right things. We just need to apply ourselves to loving God and loving others.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022. If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

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Heresy

Heresy - false doctrine, false teaching.  

But who decides what is false?  There are over 30,000 different protestant denominations.  All of them have different teachings.  Who is right?  Who is wrong?  

Who cares.

This is another blog post about how you live is much more important that what you believe.

One church will tolerate your "bad" beliefs.  Another church will excommunicate you.  Another will shun you.  Just because you don't believe it the way that they believe it, does not mean that you are bad.

God loves you.  You have a right to your beliefs.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

enjoy life

Cathy and I were driving.  A friend was with us in the back seat.  The friend's husband called.  His sister had died.  He was sobbing, as you would expect.  Hearing other people's deep grief is very difficult.  When he finally found words, he said to his wife, enjoy today, enjoy being with the Brinkmans.  Live life this day to the fullest.

I loved that.

The notion that we only have this moment.  We can struggle on, we can be on auto-pilot or we can intentionally strive to enjoy and savor this day.

Also, how beautiful it was that although he was in deep grief, he wished his wife a beautiful day.  No matter what is going on with us, we can wish others a beautiful, enjoyable day.

Enjoy today.  Savor today.  

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

sad trash

The first full day of our trip to Napa we had to make a stop in the morning at the Urgent Care.  Nothing big and scary but a needed stop.

While Cathy was inside seeing the Doc, I waited outside in the beautiful California weather.  A car pulled up across the parking lot.  Two teenage boys hopped out.  I would guess them to be 14.  The car drove off.  The boys took about ten steps and then just dropped their trash in the middle of the parking lot.  As they walked off I wanted to shout at them.  "What is wrong with you?  Who do you think you are?"  But I did not say anything.

Instead, I walked over, picked up the empty McDonalds containers and sacks.  I walked 30 yards to a trash can and threw the trash away.

It does not take that much effort to do the right thing.  We should all do everything that we can to love others and apply ourselves to good living.  This is how we make the world a better place.  We cannot control what others do, but we can certainly control what we do.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

Rethinking Christianity Part 2

More from Martin Thielen. See yesterday's post.

[I have inserted a few comments in italics]

Although critiquing and rejecting unhealthy faith (often called “deconstruction”) is an important part of rethinking Christianity, it’s only part of the task. In order to create authentic faith for today’s world, it’s crucial that we affirm the essential foundations of Christianity. Of course, that begs the question, What is essential?  My short and simple answer is Jesus.

The centrality of Jesus. When I served as a pastor in Honolulu, Hawaii, a Jewish man regularly attended my congregation. One day he said, “Pastor, I enjoy coming to your church. But is all that talk about Jesus really necessary?” I said, “Well, we are a Christian church, and Jesus sort of goes with the territory.” We both laughed, and he said, “I guess you have a point there.” The essential, non-negotiable core of Christianity is Jesus. Therefore, authentic faith in the twenty-first century must be Jesus-centric.

The story of Jesus. Several years ago, I visited a sanctuary full of stained-glass windows depicting the story of Jesus from birth to resurrection. It deeply moved me, bringing me to tears. I realized again that the Jesus story is the heartbeat of the Christian faith and the defining story of my life. The stories of Jesus, regardless of their precise historical accuracy, provide us direction, meaning, purpose, and hope. In the midst of all our complex theological deconstruction and reconstruction efforts, it’s imperative that we keep the Jesus narrative at the heart of our faith.

The teachings of Jesus. In spite of popular opinion, Christianity is not primarily (or even secondarily) about doctrinal beliefs. The Apostles’ and Nicene creeds and other theological affirmations are not the point. Neither is sustaining the institutional church. Instead, at its core, the Christian faith is about following Jesus. That includes living out the ethics of Jesus, incorporating the values of Jesus, following the teachings of Jesus, emulating the spirit of Jesus, and engaging in the practices of Jesus. In short, it means living a life of love.

The mission of Jesus. Jesus’s mission was not to start a new religion, encourage people to accept him as “their personal Lord and Savior,” get people to worship him, or to build a religious institution. Instead, Jesus’s mission was to promote love of God and neighbor and advance the kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven.” Therefore, modern believers and faith communities must engage in kingdom-building endeavors including earth care, ending systemic racism, and seeking justice.

I am for earth care, I am against racism, and I believe in justice, but I [Jeff] believe that if we show love and live a life of love, all of that will follow naturally.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

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Rethinking Christianity

Martin Thielen writes a newsletter called "The Doubter's Parish." He is a retired United Methodist Minister. Today and tomorrow I will be sharing some of his thoughts about rethinking Christianity.

Maintaining authentic faith in today’s world requires a rejection of many popular yet unhealthy traditional beliefs. Several examples follow.

Biblical literalism. The claim that everything in the Bible must be taken literally is patently absurd. The earth is not six thousand years old. Nor is it flat. A talking serpent didn’t tempt Eve in a mythical garden of Eden. The God revealed in Jesus does not condone genocide, slavery, polygamy, subjugation of women, or the execution of gays. We must always remember that God did not write the Bible. People did. And they did so with all the scientific and theological limitations of their ancient time frame. Although we should take Scripture seriously, we don't always have to take it literally.   Doing so is theological malpractice.

Blood atonement. Many congregations love to sing the old hymn “There Is a Fountain.” The first stanza says: “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.” The traditional theology of substitutionary atonement that “Jesus died for our sins” needs to be jettisoned in the modern era. While that metaphor made sense to an ancient world that practiced animal sacrifice, it’s theologically offensive to think God required a bloody sacrifice of his Son in order to forgive humanity. That’s divine child abuse, not divine justice or love.

Eternal hell. The belief that a loving God tortures people forever in unquenchable agonizing flames of hell is theological pornography. Sharon Baker is right. It’s time to "raze hell."  As Charles Templeton vividly articulated, “The idea of an endless hell is a monstrous concept. That a so-called loving Father would condemn his children . . . to be tortured forever, with no hope for reprieve, is barbarous beyond belief and can only be dismissed as ancient sadistic nonsense.”

Exclusive salvation. Thirty percent of the world’s population is Christian. Twenty percent have no religion. The other 50 percent are non-Christian believers including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews. To claim that Christianity is the only way to God and that 70 percent of the world’s non-Christian population is “lost” without any hope in this life (or the next) is intolerable theological arrogance. In today’s world, authentic believers must respect religious diversity, affirming value and beauty in all faiths and even no faith.

Other examples of unhealthy religion could be cited including partisan religion, nationalistic religion, self-righteous judgmental religion, anti-LGBTQ religion, prosperity religion, angry religion, absolutist religion, anti-science religion, end-times “rapture” religion, and religion that promises —God providentially protect believers from harm, which is demonstrably false.

Tomorrow some thoughts on positive reconstruction.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

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Click here for the brochure

You do not need

You do not need.

You do not need to know.

You do not need to be right.

You do not need to believe the right things. [who says what those are?]
You do not need to say the sinner's prayer. [it's not in the Bible]
You do not need to live in fear. God does not want us to live in fear.
The church and many of our Pastors had filled us with shoulds and oughts. Shoulds and oughts do not matter. What matters is learning that you are loved, and learning to love back.
Jettison the shoulds and oughts. You do not need. You do not need their rules.

You do not need to do anything except love.  Love God, love others, love yourself.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

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It is all a gift

Richard Rohr has put out some great stuff lately...

From his Sept 23 devotional...

Jesus said to the host who had invited him, “When you hold a lunch or dinner . . . invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; and blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” —Luke 14:12–14

Inspired by the above exchange in the Gospel of Luke, Richard explores the economy of grace in which Jesus, and therefore God, desires us to live.

I’d like to contrast two economies or worldviews. The first economy is capitalism, which is based on quid pro quo, reward and punishment, and justice as retribution. This much product requires this much payment. It soon becomes the framework for our fundamental relationships, our basic self-image, and actions (“I deserve”; “You owe me”; “I will be generous if it helps me, too”), and constructs a faulty foundation for our relationship with the Divine.

We’ve got to admit that this system of exchange seems reasonable to almost everybody today. If we’re honest, it makes sense to us, too, and seems fair. I’m not going to say it’s wrong—it does much good. The only trouble is, Jesus doesn’t believe it at all, and he’s supposed to be our spiritual teacher.

Let’s contrast this “meritocracy,” the punishment/reward economy of basic capitalism, with what Jesus presents. I’m going to call it a gift economy.  In a gift economy, there is no equivalence between what we give and how much we get. We don’t really like this model, because we feel we’ve worked hard to get to our rightful social positions. We feel we have earned our rights.

Yet if we call ourselves Christians, we have to deal with the actual Gospel. The only way we can make the great turnaround and understand this is if we’ve had at least one experience of being given to without earning. It’s called forgiveness, unconditional love, and mercy. If we’ve never received unearned, undeserved love, we will stay in the capitalist worldview where 2 + 2 = 4. I put in my 2, I get my 2 back. But we remain very unsure, if not angry, about anything “free,” whether it is free health care (physical, mental, or spiritual) or even free education. These benefits can be seen as natural human rights that sustain peoples’ humanity and dignity, as papal social encyclicals make clear. All too often, though, we only want people in our own group to benefit from health care, education, and bail outs.

We don’t “deserve” anything, anything! It’s all a gift. Until we have begun to live in the kingdom of God, instead of the kingdoms of this world, we will think exactly like the world. To understand the Gospel in its radical, transformative power, we have to stop counting, measuring, and weighing. We have to stop saying “I deserve” and deciding who does not deserve. None of us deserves! This daily conversion is hard to do unless we’ve experienced infinite mercy and realized that it’s all a gift—all the time.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

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What am I doing to inspire others?

From Jeff... take time to watch the video below.  It is two minutes long, very inspirational and brought me to tears.

From my friend Pat...

Below is a link to a video about my neighbor Tom Rice. Tom just turned 100. In 1944, at the age of 24, Tom jumped into Normandy as part of the American invasion in WW2. He jumped again for his 100th birthday into Coronado Island. The plane that he jumped out of was a restored Douglas C-53 that dropped paratroopers over France on D-Day.  

I don’t know Tom, but we all claim him as our own here on Coronado because he is so inspirational to us all. I’m sure he has limitations, we all do, but at 100 he’s still jumping out of airplanes and playing a roll.

So I ask myself, in spite of my limitations (can’t dance, cant shoot a basketball, can’t hit a golf ball, or stay up past 10) what am I doing to inspire others? Is it enough? Ask yourself the same question? We can all do better to inspire and encourage others.

click here to watch the short video about Tom

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

Contemplation creates compassion

The italics words are from Richard Rohr's daily devotional from September 26th.

Let me try to tee this up... Contemplation means a stopping to think, to consider calmly, the who is around me and what is happening.  It is a paying attention, giving attention to what is important.  It is turning off the auto pilot and thinking from the soul.

From Father Richard Rohr-
A practice of contemplation is one of the surest ways to develop the virtue of compassion—for both ourselves and others. 

Much of the early work of contemplation is discovering a way to observe ourselves from a compassionate and nonjudgmental distance until we can eventually live more and more of our lives from this calm inner awareness and acceptance. In a contemplative stance, we find ourselves smiling, sighing, and weeping at ourselves, much more than needing either to hate or to congratulate ourselves—because we are finally looking at ourselves with the eyes of God.

Actually, what is happening is we are letting God gaze at us, in the way only God can gaze—with infinite mercy, love, and compassion. God initiates a positive gaze, which now goes in both directions.

As we receive God’s compassionate gaze in contemplation, all negative energy and motivation is slowly exposed and will eventually fall away as counter-productive and useless. There will be no mistrust, fear, or negativity in either direction! If we resort to any form of shaming ourselves, we will slip back into defense, denial, and overcompensation. We will not be able to “know as fully as we are known” (see 1 Corinthians 13:12).

But if we can connect with the Indwelling Presence, where the “Spirit bears common witness with our spirit” (see Romans 8:16), it can and will change our lives! This mutually loving gaze is always initiated by God and grace. Once you learn to rest there, nothing less will ever satisfy you.

[Jeff writing here]  Is it possible to stop thinking about how bad you are? Is it possible for you to love yourself as God does? Is it possible to believe that God loves you? Yes! Yes! Yes! Just start the work of thinking differently about God and about yourself.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

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We are too tribal

Raider fans in "the Black Hole"

I am from Kansas City.

Is it ok to hate the Raiders? The Yankees???

We are too tribal.

Ed Smith grows up in our town.  He’s the star quarterback at the local high school. We love him. He graduates and chooses the wrong college he goes to K state instead of Missouri.  Now we are very unhappy with him. Then after college he’s drafted by the Chiefs and we love him again. We love him so much and we’re so proud of him.  Then after a couple of years the Chiefs trade him to the Raiders, and we hate him again. Do we understand how ridiculous this is?  They’re just guys!  We need to be less tribal and more communal.

Everyone matters.  Red and yellow black and white they are precious in his sight.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

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Annual Napa Trip

Cathy and I have taken an annual Napa/Sonoma/Santa Rosa trip since 2008.  Well I guess it was an annual trip except for the pandemic year of 2020.  Anyway, we just returned from the trip and it was fantastic as always.  I went to Jr. High and Sr. High and started college in San Jose.  I just love northern California.  The scenery is amazing.  The weather is amazing.  I thought I would share some pictures.

Gardens at Hans Fadden Winery.

Olive trees line this winery

Real olives on the trees!!!

pomegranates? 

Guerneville redwoods

Jenner pompous grass

Pacific ocean near Bodega Bay

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

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How am I affecting others?

What am I doing?  What am I thinking about as I am doing what I am doing?  We were on vacation last week and I was waiting to get a cup of coffee.  Waiting, because the person in front of me was standing at the coffee bar making their mix.  Black coffee, a couple sweeteners, a couple of creamers, mix it up, add more, mix it up, put on the lid.

I wanted to say, hey friend, grab what you need and take it over to your table and make your concoction away from here.  Let someone else up to the coffee pot.

But of course, I said nothing.  By the way, in the framework of fight or flight, I almost always flee.  I am not a fighter.

Anyway, this experience at the coffee bar made me think about how our actions affect others.

I think that the world would be a better place if we asked ourselves this question.  Not, what do I want to do, but how is what I am doing affecting others.  We must remember that I am not the only one here.  There are others with needs as well.  I can probably get done what I need to get done, even if I make small course changes to help them along the journey.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

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An Unfinished Life

In this Netflix movie, J-Lo was married to Robert Redford's son.  The son died in a car wreck.  I cannot imagine losing a child.

In one scene, Robert Redford is at the cemetery, at the grave of his son, talking to him about what his life might’ve been. 

Pause...

I think about all of the surprises and disappointments and changes that I’ve seen in my life.  It is easy to wonder, "what could have been?"  It is easy to wish for something more or something different.  

But I have to remember...  My children are alive. My sisters are alive. And as long as you’re alive you have an opportunity to turn a corner.

Don't focus on what might have been.  Make today beautiful.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

Prayer changes things

What a nice cliché "prayer changes things."  Do we really believe that?  Just get enough people praying and God will be obligated to do what I am asking.  Just get enough likes on your facebook prayer and God must acquiesce to our requests.

I guess when it doesn't go our way, that we did not get enough people to pray.  Just a few more and God would have been forced.

What if there is another way to think about prayer?

Prayer was never given to us so that we could get our way.  There is no guarantee in life that things will go our way.  Christianity is not about God giving me a comfortable life.  That is a notion of American self-centered christianity.

We need a different paradigm about prayer.  How about this:

True prayer change me.  Prayer changes something... it will change me if in prayer I am prostrating my heart before God.

"Dear God, help me understand.  And if I can't understand please help me trust you.  Please help me to find peace in the storm.  Please help me to find you."

When we give up trying to fix things and give up trying to control God, we can finally rest in him and find a peace that passes understanding.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

Love will find a way

I was in Jacksonville, buying cookies for the guys at the metal galvanizing plant.  I needed them to help me move some steel and I wanted them to be glad to see me.  Cookies and chocolate always help.  While in the grocery store I heard this song, and the lyrics intrigued me.  I looked it up.  The group is "Blessed Union of Souls."  The song is "I believe."

Here are some of the lyrics:

Walk blindly to the light and reach out for his hand
Don't ask any questions and don't try to understand
Open up your mind and then open up your heart
And you will see that you and me aren't very far apart
'Cause I believe that love is the answer
I believe that love will find the way.

As I ponder these lyrics I think about an issue that I have had for several years.  Sometimes I handle it well and sometimes it tears me up.  Listening to these lyrics I am prompted to think: What would happen if I just took God's hand.  What if I stopped trying to understand it?  What would happen if I stopped trying to fix it?  How might things change if I opened my mind and opened my heart?  Can love be the answer?  Can love find a way?

The other things that I have been trying have not worked very well.  I am going to try really hard to just put it all in God's hands, trust him, and deliver all of the love that I possibly can.

Is there something in your life that you cannot control?  Something that you might want to give over to the Master?  I believe that love can find a way.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

The Love File

The "love file" is something that we learned about from Dave Ramsey, the famous financial planner.  He also calls in "the legacy drawer."

This is basically a set of files that provides all of the information that my spouse or children will need to know at the time of death.

• There is a cover letter about how much I love them.
• There are instructions for my cremation and memorial service.
• There is information on all financial accounts. Account numbers, where they are located and who the beneficiaries are.
• monthly budget
• tax returns
• social security info
• safety deposit box info.
• There is info on the life insurance.
• There are medical directives and my last will.

Since I have handled the finances in our family the entire time, this is all important information for others to have when the time comes.

It is never easy to lose someone you love, but we can make it easier on them by making sure that they have everything that they need.  It is one final way that we can say,  "I love you!!!"

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

God was not there

I have been watching the show Jaguar on Netflix. I really enjoy WW2 shows, especially shows where the Israeli Secret Service is catching former Nazis.

Two concentration camp survivors are talking and they tell this joke:
Two camp survivors die and go to heaven. They are arguing about the concentration camps that they were in.
One was in Auschwitz, the other in Treblinka.
Each is arguing that his camp was much worse than the other one.
Since they are in heaven, God steps in to make peace. Gentlemen you are already in heaven. You don't have to argue about this, all you have to do is rest in peace.
Then one of them turns to God and says,
"you don't get to have an opinion because you were not in either one of those camps."

A painful story about the camps that were so bad that they truly seemed "God forsaken." Although I get the joke, I can't imagine what those folks went through, I want to say this:

There is no place where God isn't.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.   Ps 139:7-10

What ever may be going on in your life my friend, no matter how alone you may feel, please remember that God is there. He never leaves us, he never forsakes us. He is truly a friend that sticks closer than a brother.     Prov 18:24

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

I love you

Me and Alli at the Royals-Marlins
game in Miami in 2017

Last week someone told me that they loved me.  We should tell each other this on a regular basis.  It does not take much of life's ups and downs to wear off the feeling that I am/we are loved.

I was in Jacksonville working for DH by chance on Alli's birthday.  We had already sent a card with a check, but I drove  minutes out of my way to stop, surprise her, and say Happy Birthday.  And I told her I loved her.  But I should tell her every week because it does not take too much of life for us to forget.

I love you.

Tell everyone that you can.  Repeat.  Repeat.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

selfishness

I’m amazed at the selfishness of some people. 

Somebody checked into the hotel.  They put their bags on the cart and they take it up to their room.  They unload their bags and leave the cart in the hallway instead of taking it back to the lobby.  I guess that no one else needed that cart. 

For my friend "N" 

I am constantly frustrated by people who cannot count.  In the ten items or less line at the grocery store and they have 15 or 20 or 50 items.  And they know that the checkers will not say anything to them.

I was at Lowe’s.  I parked in the parking lot and was walking in.  This guy pulls up right in front of me with a truck pulling a small trailer.  He parks right in front of the front door.   I have to go around him to get in the door.  He hops out and rushes in.  We’re both going to the same place, to return something. And so he’s in line in front of me and I want to say, "dude why do you think you can park like that?  What makes you so special that you can block the entrance to the store?" 

I listened as he rambled about what was going on with him for a while and then he walked out the door and got in his truck and trailer and off he went. 

The apostle Paul talks about this struggle between the spirit and the flesh.  And I would boil it down this way - the flesh is selfishness and the Spirit is love and kindness. People think it’s easier to be selfish. But being kind it is not difficult. 

It’s just a mindset that says I want to bring something positive to the world. I wanna make it about everyone else instead of making it about me.

It takes more muscles to frown then to smile.  It takes more effort and more drive to be selfish then to be kind.  It is not that hard to be kind.  

Let's offset the selfishness of others by showing exemplary kindness and love.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

So I just finished watching a Netflix show called Jaguar.  It is about concentration camp survivors who are hunting Nazi's 15 years after the war.

There was a discussion that I found interesting. One survivor says to the other, "I am supposed to turn the other cheek, but there is a problem. Because of what they did to us in the camp, I stopped believing in God."

...  ... ...

We who were not there, cannot imagine the horror of the camps. I can imagine not believing in the church or organized religion, but I cannot imagine not believing in God. I hope that we never face such horror that we stop believing.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure

Let them out of prison

My friend Sherry sent in this James Dobson quote...

"Forgiveness is giving up my right (or need) to hurt you for hurting me."

When we hold a grudge we are only hurting ourselves.  When you release someone, you let them out of prison.  And when you release someone, you let yourself out of prison as well.

Life is too short to be balled up with resentment.  Let it go and find the joy.

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

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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022.  If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf

Click here for the brochure