favorite songs

I believe that it is my buddy John M who used to or still does have music parties with friends.  He would invite 3 buddies over, each one bringing a number of songs to share.  Then the group would sit and listen to each other's songs and drink ice tea.

I always thought that this was a fantastic idea.  Sometimes now when friends come to visit, we sit around the table, tell stories and ask Alexa to play our favorite songs.

If I went to such a party at your house, I could bring many many songs.  But if I had to choose 4, here are four that come to my mind today.

1.  Meatloaf - 2 out of 3 ain't bad

2.  ELO - All over the world

3.  Coldplay - Viva la vida

4.  Brooks and Dunn - Neon Moon

I would love to hear what some of your 4 favorites are.  And please don't say, "anything Chicago" give me some specific songs.

I love music.  It is amazing.  It is a gift from God.

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

from my brother John... and sermon link

Fear is "what if"
Faith is "even if"

I love that.

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

click here to listen to or watch Sunday's sermon.

sermon 9-7-2025

Who moved my cheese?

Who moved my cheese is a 1998 book by Spencer Johnson. In the book he outlines 4 responses to change...

In the story, two mice and two "little people" — people the size of mice — live in a maze. The mice, named Sniff and Scurry, are simpleminded and instinctive; they run the same path every day, eating cheese when they find it, but are always ready to move on. The littlepeople, Hem and Haw, search for a special kind of Cheese that makes them happy and fulfilled by keeping track of where they have found it before. All four discover a spot where their favorite cheese is regularly available, called Cheese Station C. The mice continue to run the entire maze each day while the littlepeople stop exploring and settle at Cheese Station C.

One day the supply at Cheese Station C is exhausted. The mice accept that there is no more cheese and continue their running path. The littlepeople sit at the station confused and upset. Hem protests that there ought to be Cheese, and Haw wonders where the mice have gone. Meanwhile, the mice find new supply of cheese at Cheese Station N. The littlepeople remain at Cheese Station C for several days, growing frustrated and hungry. Eventually Haw accepts that running the maze is the only way he will ever have Cheese again, faces his fear of moving on, and leaves Hem behind.

Haw finds crumbs of Cheese scattered around the maze and some other Cheese Stations that are already depleted. He returns to Cheese Station C and tells Hem there is other Cheese, but Hem refuses to budge. Haw continues exploring, writing observations about his journey on the walls of the maze, until he arrives at Cheese Station N which is stocked with all kinds of Cheese.

Haw reflects on the lessons he has learned and hopes that Hem will finally let go of his doubts. On the wall of Cheese Station N, he writes several lessons that change is inevitable and keeping up with it is the only way to continue having Cheese. 

Lessons for life...

1. Anticipate change: Be ready for the cheese to move.
2. Adapt quickly: The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.
3. Change: Move with the cheese.
4. Enjoy change: Savor the adventure and the taste of new cheese.
5. Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again: The cheese will keep moving.

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

Bad feeling

Last Sunday I walked into church and I had a bad feeling. I wasn't ready. I wasn't feeling it. This happens sometimes and it is not a good feeling. It's like you know there will be people hoping to get something in worship, and you feel like you have nothing to give.

I sat on the front row and prayed. Then I remembered this story.

The village priest was a holy man so each time the people were in trouble they had recourse to him. He would then withdraw to a special place in the forest and say a special prayer. God would always hear his prayer and the village would be helped.

When he died and the people were in trouble they had recourse to his successor who was not a holy man but knew the secret of the special place in the forest and the special prayer. So he said, “Lord, you know I am not a holy man. But surely you are not going to hold that against my people? So listen to my prayer and come to our assistance.” And God would hear his prayer and the village would be helped.

When he too died and the people were in trouble they had recourse to his successor who knew the special prayer but not the place in the forest. So he said, “What do you care for places, Lord? Is not every place made holy by your presence? So listen to my prayer and come to our assistance.” And once again God would hear his prayer and the village would be helped.

Now he too died and when the people were in trouble they had recourse to his successor who did not know the special prayer or the special place in the forest. So he said, “It isn’t the formula that you value, Lord, but the cry of the heart in distress. So listen to my prayer and come to our assistance.” And once again God would hear his prayer and the village would be helped.

After this man died when the people were in trouble they had recourse to his successor. Now this priest had more use for money than for prayer. So he would say to God, “What sort of a God are you that while you are perfectly capable of solving problems that you yourself have caused, you still refuse to lift a finger until you have us cringe and beg and plead? Well, you can do as you please with the people.” Then he would go right back to whatever business he had in hand. And, once again, God would hear his prayer and the village would be helped.

I am glad that God is available and helpful even when we feel unable or unworthy.

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

thoughts from a friend, about friendship...

I recently had the joy of reconnecting with a person I worked with 44 years ago. What a blessing. This person is retired and lives in your state of Florida, and is going to come see me in a couple of weeks. We visit online every day.

What I have discovered is that people's personal traits most often don't change a lot, even over that many years. We continue to be who we are, and often the way we were shaped during our upbringing.

This person has the same values as when we worked together:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Thriftiness
• Outgoingness
• A strong and active faith in God

Needless to say, I am very excited to see this person.

Jeff comments... how lovely to have friends that you are excited to see. I love visiting my KC friends. I also look forward to going to church both at Ft. Pierce and Oceanview. I enjoy going into the office to work at Ocean View. Great people there. It is a joy to have friends and know good people.

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

be thankful

I was visited by a woman who has a sick child.  An adult child.  She has already buried two of her other children.  She has also buried 4 of her brothers and sisters.

We prayed for her.  We prayed for her daughter.  We prayed for healing.

And she told me this... "what ever is going on with your kids that you are worried about, just be thankful that you still have them."

Please say a prayer for my friend and her daughter.  Thank you.

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

Fear and Greed

 The other day I got to catch up with my friend Scott Connors.  Scott is a financial planner, and a very good man.  He told me something that I thought was interesting...

"Most people make their decisions based on fear and greed."

Well of course, that makes sense in the financial world.  Fear of losing, fear of not having enough, greed for more.

But as I got to thinking about it, I think that many decisions in life, even outside the world of investments are highly influenced by fear and greed.

I am afraid I may lose that person.  I am afraid to be alone.  I am afraid of aging.  And so sometimes we act out of our fears.

I want.  I want more.  I am going to take it.  I can never have enough.  Greed spills over into every day life.

What if instead of fear and greed, we started to think more about faith and trust.  Faith and trust.  

Faith and trust.  Everything is ok.  We are fine.  We have enough.  God is with us and will take care of us.  A subtle shift in our thinking can change so much of how we feel about a day.

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

Short Cut and sermon link

So I was in the Kansas City airport on Saturday.  The airport was not very busy.  I got my bags checked and headed for security.

Although there were very few people there, the TSA security had all of the back and forth stanchions set up.  Back and forth, back and forth, for no reason.

I did not want to go back and forth.  There were no people in line.  I decided to take a short cut.  I saw a spot where the barrier was sagging low, very low.  I knew that I could easily step over it and save myself 100s of steps.  [can you see what is about to happen???]

Sometimes short cuts are not the way to go.

My right foot went over the barrier... my left foot caught the fabric belt.  I was surprised.  And then suddenly I was going down.  My entire body lurched and jerked to avoid the fall.

A couple of Clear employees came to check on me.  I was ok.  Sort of.  I pulled my quad and tweaked my left shoulder.  Now, because I wanted to save a few steps, my body will ache for a few weeks.

Sometimes short cuts are not the way to go.  Sometimes the easy way is not the easy way.

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

If you are interested in listening to/watching the sermon from Sunday, here is the link

Click here for sermon from 8-31

Goodbye

Last week I had to say good bye to my Kansas City friends. It was sad. There were tears. I love them and I miss them all so much.

I’ll see many of them again in October when I go back for Woods Chapel UMC’s 50th anniversary celebration.

I guess it’s better to have friends and miss them, than to have no one in your life that is special.

So if you have people that you miss, be thankful for the friendship that is shared between you.

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

The Next Human

Who is the next person that you will see?  A family member?  A server at a restaurant?  Another driver?  A co-worker?  Stop right now and think of that person.

How will you treat them?  Will they be treated as a stranger or a friend?  Will you really "see" them?  Will you show them kindness?

The kingdom comes, we take over the world, one day, one moment at a time.

Send me a story and tell me about the next person that you meet today and how that encounter went.

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

Proper apologies

Sign seen recently at a Jimmy Johns...

Proper apologies have three parts:

1.  What I did was wrong.

2.  I feel badly that I hurt you.

3.  How can I make this better?

Then of course, actually doing the thing to make it better.

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

It's still about me

We humans default to: "it's about me."

When I make it about me and what I want, it is never healthy.  When I make it about me, the greater good always takes a hit.

I must remember that the story is bigger than me and my wants and the picture is bigger than me and what I can see.

Stop and think and be honest with yourself.   Can you see the bigger picture?

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

We just disagree

Dave Mason sang a song...

Been away, haven't seen you in a while
How've you been, have you changed your style?
And do you think that we've grown up differently?
Don't seem the same, seems you've lost your feel for me

[Chorus]
So let's leave it alone, 'cause we can't see eye to eye
There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy
There's only you and me and we just disagree
Ooh-hoo-hoo, oh-oh-ho

[Verse 2]
I'm going back to a place that's far away
How bout you, have you got a place to stay? you,

Why should I care, when I'm just trying to get along?
We were friends, but now it's the end of our love song

[Chorus]
So let's leave it alone, 'cause we can't see eye to eye
There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy
There's only you and me and we just disagree
Ooh-hoo-hoo, oh-oh-ho

Sometimes friends, we just disagree.  Good people, two sides of an argument.  

Let's just move on and agree to disagree.  I still love you and I hope that you still love me.

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

transformers

Power comes from the power lines to our homes.  Along the way there is a transformer that reduces the power to where it is usable in our homes.  High voltage is reduced to a much lower voltage.  That makes everything work in the home.   Send the high voltage straight in, like in a lightening strike and everything is fried.

When organizations are under stress,  some folks become high voltage.  Complaining, unhappy and negative.  

Churches need transformers. Organizations of all kinds need transformers.  Families need transformers.   These are people who do not get excited by change, bad news, or difficult situations.  They take worry in stride.  They have learned in life how to take the moments that seem to be terminal and make them palatable.  Relational transformers calm the storm.  They make the energy usable for the entire organization.

How about you.  Are you raising the voltage or are you transforming it into something that can be used for the good of the whole?

The world needs less reactors and more transformers.

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

bad story

I know a painful story.  It has come into my world in a surprising way.  I have struggled with it for years.  It would be very easy to let this story dominate me.

But I am not going to let this story become my story.  While I have every sympathy for the situation, I cannot let it take over my life.

If we let bad news eat our lunch, and we can, then we are no good for our friends, no good for our family, no good for ourselves and no good for God.

We need to push off the bad news and focus on the good.  There is too much good to see, there is too much love to give to allow hurtful things to dominate our lives.

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

First Day

Last Monday was the first day of Kindergarten for my 5 year old granddaughter Bella.  She was excited.  Mom was in tears.  We sent clothes.

By the way, our Grandma and Grandpa names are Ci Ci and Pooh. 😄😀😊

They made a sign for her to hold....

She doesn't want the sign.  She says, I got this!!!

Mom is gonna cry

It is three blocks to school.  Dad is "walking" here there.

They wondered all day how her first day was going.  When they picked her up at the end of the day, she was happy as a bee.  She didn't want to leave.

I wanted to share these pictures with  you.  It makes me happy to see her growing up and doing well.

It is nice to have happy things in our lives.  Next week they will be in Florida for a visit.  Very exciting!!!

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

compassion fatigue

I hate compassion fatigue but it is a real thing.

Compassion fatigue is what you feel after you watch one too many commercials for starving children.  Or one too many commercials about animals that need to be rescued.

I am experiencing it over the war in Ukraine.  I have very negative feelings towards Putin.  I hate what he is doing.  I want to read about what is going on with the war, but after a while, it just gets exhausting.

Part of what is difficult about all of these issues is that we have a feeling of powerlessness.  I can't change Ukraine or Gaza.  I can't feed all the children.  I can't rescue all the dogs.

When we allow compassion fatigue to win, we easily become those who put on our rose colored glasses and slip into our comfortable American lifestyle.  Kind of a "I can't fix it, so forget it."

We must remember this, "just because we cannot do everything, does not mean that we should not do something."

Fight compassion fatigue.  Care about what matters in the world.

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

take a deep breath

Sometimes it feels like the world around you is going crazy.  Or at least the world around me is going crazy.  Things happen that I don't understand, things happen that I don't like.

It is easy to react.  It is easy to buck up.  It is easy to complain.  In fact, this is the response that way to many humans make.  When something happens that we don't like most humans get unhappy because the world is not aligning itself to make me happy.

There is another way.  It is the way of Jesus.  When he was hurt, he did not hurt back.  When he was insulted, he did not retaliate.  He simply entrusted himself to his Father.

I think that we would all surely find more peace in life if we worried less about circumstances and simply rested in God.

It's not that hard.  Take a deep breath.  He is right here.

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

More Ducks

In our neighborhood we have lots of different kinds of ducks.  This is a Muskogee Duck with her latest waddling of ducks.

So cute, so amazing to see.  If there are 11 today, next week there will be 8, the next week 5 and so on.  And somewhere there is a fox getting fat.

I think ducks are cool.  I'm not a fan of foxes or bobcats.  But I guess they all play a role in God's big beautiful world.

There are parts of the world that we like and parts that we don't.  We have to learn to enjoy what we like and understand the parts that we don't.

Life is one constant lesson of me learning to get over myself, and what I do and don't prefer.

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

Permission giving

Permission Giving

I get questions from time to time about what is a permission giving church.  For the last 15 years that I was at Woods Chapel in Lees Summit, we ran a permission giving system.

Many organizations operate in a top down fashion. The board or CEO decides the priorities and those priorities trickle down to the rank and file. The problem with this in the church is that people end up doing ministry because someone else decided what they should be doing.

In a permission giving church, people are taught to hear God's call. Everyone is called by God. What is God calling you to do? Staff and leaders then, simply help direct and launch what others feel called to do, helping them to take responsibility for, and lead their ministry.

In a traditional church organization, people want to dump their ministry ideas on the church members and the church budget.  In a permission giving system, people who are called to a ministry must manage and demonstrate 3 [three] things:

1.  does this ministry fit our mission?  Does it show or share God's love in some way?

2.  Who will do it?  The person presenting the idea must build their own team.  They must take responsibility to find the folks to join them in the endeavor.  

3.  Funding... people with ministry ideas must explain how it will be funded.  They cannot expect to dump ministry costs on the church budget.  If God is calling you to do a thing, he can probably help you find a way to fund it.

Once people could demonstrate success on the three things above, we turned them lose to follow their calling.

The result of turning people loose to follow their call is that suddenly, there are many things going on in the church, and you can no longer keep track of it all. Ministry is a grass roots level up thing, no longer a top down thing. Tom Bandy wrote a book called Christian Chaos. It is about what happens in a church when everyone is listening and responding to God's calling. You can no longer manage it, you can no longer control it, the Holy Spirit is just working and you have to stand back and say Wow!

I want to encourage everyone, everywhere to hear God's call and look for ways to live out what He has placed on your heart. The most exciting part of being a Christian is being in ministry, and its not just for pastors. God calls us all.

For more on permission giving, here is a YouTube video with some more permission giving propaganda.

video on permission giving

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

Healthy Church

From time to time I think about the work that we did to help make Woods Chapel UMC a healthy church.

One of the things that we did was to have a ministry audit by Bill Easum's company.  The result of that audit was a number of motions that were passed by the church council and put into motion over the next months and years...

From church council, Saturday, August 26th, 2000 6:00pm and passed unanimously.
4. Motion: That the missions statement is the plumb line of the church by which everything else is measured.

5. Motion: We affirm that the mission is non-negotiable and that everything else is expendable for the mission if need be. I.e. ballfield vs parking

10. Motion: when we find that we are struggling to reach consensus, we are committed to pray and to carefully ask the question “What is God doing, and do I disagree because this goes against the leading of the spirit and the mission of the church or because I prefer something else?” And that we consider the question “where is God’s will, and where is my will?”

11. Motion: that we work toward balanced programming by affirming the cycle of ministry as defined by the “inviting, forming and sending” model.

15. Motion: while being committed to serve those who hurt, we agree to grow in Christ so that we are able to affirm the statement “we are called to serve, not to be served”

16. Motion: that we commit to dream big. That we affirm the belief that God is big enough to fulfill his dreams in us as outlined in Eph 3:20 “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

18. Motion: that we affirm the statement “membership is a responsibility not a privilege” [33]

23. Motion: We affirm the belief that those who are not here matter as much if not more than those who are already here.

25. Motion: that while we work to nurture people of all ages, we make a stronger commitment to reach folks in their 20’s, who are the future of tomorrow’s church. [35]

You can see that there were many more motions that passed, but I hold these few out as those that seem most important to me. You can hear the outward focused nature of the proposals. You can hear the church reaching for and embracing the ideals of selflessness.

When we make it about me, my comfort and my preference, we get off track, we get off mission. When we put others first, when we put the mission first, things start to get back on track.

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

ridiculous

I read the online news.  Maybe I should stop.

One of the current headlines is this: "100 foot waves are headed for the US."  

This is theoretically from Hurricane Erin that is several hundred miles off shore.  In 2016, hurricane Matthew was 30 miles of shore and we did not get any huge waves.

I get so disgusted with the way the news media needs to exaggerate everything.  It is like they need to keep everyone in a state of fear.

How about this... If it is a calm news day, just tell us that there is a calm news day.  No traffic issues... weather as usual.  Sports is all preseason...

Another thing about their sensationalism... they never come back and apologize when they predict a 12" snowfall and it snows 1/4 of an inch.  They never admit they were wrong when the predicted tsunamis do not hit.

Why try to keep people all up in arms all the time?  Life is good.  Just work on seeing the good and helping people live happy productive lives.

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

storage

Before I start this post, I give a pass to anyone who has kids who are in that not quite moved out/moved back in stage... mine filled an apartment with stuff and then had to come home = storage unit.

I am forever amazed at the number of new storage facilities that are being built.  We Americans have so much stuff.   It doesn't work in the living room so it goes to the closet.  The closet is over run so some of it has to go to the garage.

Eventually it gets tossed into the trash or donated to the thrift store.

But now we have a storage unit.  That is where you pay to rent space so you can visit your garbage.

I read some years ago that 30% of what you have in your house, in your office, in your any where, could just be donated or thrown away into the trash.

We have so very much.  Instead of storing it away somewhere, why not give it to someone who could put it to use?

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

if you want to listen to Sunday's abbreviated sermon, you may click the link below.

click here to listen to Sunday's short sermon

The rumble seat...

My Uncle Carl had a Ford Model A with a rumble seat.  The rumble seat was like where a trunk would be in a car, but instead of a trunk, you popped open the hatch and there was a seat.  A rumble seat.

You can imagine why it was named that.

I remember riding in that car many times when we were young.  

And like many things that take you to the edge, you have a number of options.  Some people got sick.  Some were frightened.  Me and my cousin, we just hung on for dear life and laughed.

On the road of life, sometimes we find ourselves riding in the rumble seat.   We can get freaked out or we can hang on and enjoy the ride.

It's all going to be fine in the end.

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

The life saving station...

I first posted this story in 2010... it continues to be relevant today...

I have been thinking about this story. It is a clear reminder of why the local church exists and the sacrifices that it's members are called to perform for the sake of it's mission.

The life saving station

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was a once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, they went out day or night tirelessly searching for the lost.

Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding areas, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The little life-saving station grew.

Some of the new members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea.

So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they re-decorated it beautifully and furnished it as a sort of club.

Less of the members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired life boat crews to do this work.

The mission of life-saving was still given lip-service but most were too busy or lacked the necessary commitment to take part in the life-saving activities personally. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people.

They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin, and some spoke a strange language, and the beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal life pattern of the club.

But some members insisted that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the life of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. They evolved into a club and yet another life-saving station was founded.

If you visit the seacoast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, only now most of the people drown.

May we all rise above the traditional ways that church people tend to think.

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

outward and inward focus...

Healthy growing churches infuse their members with the idea they are all on a mission from God and a mission for God.

When we forget that we are here to be outward focused, we easily become inward focused.  We make church about us and our personal comfort.

The outcome of such choices is predictable, and it is one of the primary reasons that the mainlines churches have been in decline for decades.

Yes I want you to like your church, but the church is the means, it is not the end.  The church is a tool that we use to reach and care for others.  It is not meant to be a vacation home.

Christianity is lived off property... outside the doors of the church.

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

 

from my friend Bruce

 

Not much more to be said.

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

responsibility

I am a big fan of getting things done.

Sometimes responsibility belongs to those who are willing to bear it.

Why put off til tomorrow what you can do today.

The following photos were a discussion between Denzel Washington and a young man in one of the Equalizer movies.

Sometimes we have to just step up and do a thing.

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

What were you taught?

When we came home from school, my mom used to ask, "what did you learn today?"  Your parents may have said something similar.

Recently I was talking with someone who told me that they were also asked this about church.  And the follow up question then was, "were you taught to believe or to think?"

It is a great question... What are you learning from church?

• What to believe? How to believe it just right?
• Or how to think. How to think honestly and critically about what you are hearing.

It is easier to swallow and regurgitate things that you are supposed to believe.  Those that just buy whatever is being sold are taking the easy road.

But when you really start to think about what you are hearing at church, that is when something can become your own.  It is no longer something that I just adopted from the pastor/teacher.  I think that we feel more genuine and more grounded when we have the freedom to ask questions and process what we are hearing and make choices about what we are believing.

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

A great duck story....

This article appeared in the Missouri Methodist Magazine. If you are not from Woods Chapel, I would tell you that it was my pleasure to serve as Pastor of that church from 1994-2016.

Here is the article...

For the past five years, Woods Chapel has been a sanctuary for visitors who reside at the church, protecting their young from danger. They weren’t invited, but they weren’t turned away either. Before this story continues any further, it is important to note that they are ducks.
An inner courtyard at Woods Chapel is walled in. Five years ago, a duck made a nest in the courtyard, where it is safe from foxes sometimes seen around the church. It hatched its brood there. The brood typically consists of 10-12 ducklings.

Staff at the church provided some duck food and a kiddie pool for water. The water is replenished and refilled daily. Bricks were stacked up so the baby ducklings could get to the water. Human contact with the ducks and ducklings is limited, so they don’t become tame.

When the ducklings are around five weeks old, the mother duck leads them to the glass door that exits the courtyard. Someone on staff opens the door, and she leads them down a long hallway to an exit door. They then walk to a nearby pond.

This year, the church was surprised when a second mother duck appeared with 11 more baby ducks. They then had a total of 17 ducklings, three adult females and three mallards in the courtyard. They bought a second pool for them all and a lot more food. The third clutch of 10 eggs hatched the second week of July.

“We are suddenly the hottest AirBnb in town,” said Ann Williams, missions and care director for Woods Chapel UMC.

Those first ducklings made their appearance in March and remained until mid-June. At press time, the church was still awaiting the hatch of the third nest.

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

lightning bugs and yesterday's sermon

I get so much information into this old brain, it is hard to remember where it all comes from.  I am not bragging, I am simply declaring that I just can't remember things like I used to...

I have a friend who signs off her emails by saying, "be a lightning bug for God."  Lovely.

Someone else sent me a note that said, if God can make a lightning bug's rear end light up, just think of what He could do with you.  I Love that!!!

If you are interested in listening to yesterday's very serious sermon about revenge and forgiveness, the link is just below...

click here to listen to the sermon

Hugs to you all my friends!

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

bumps along the way

What bumps are in the way of your life?  What difficulties are you experiencing that you wish would go away?

At some point in life, you will look back on those bumps and see them as just a part of the journey.  Even the most difficult things, I can look back on now and see them as a part of the story.

The point is this... don't over glorify today's bumps in the road.  In a short time, they will be water under the bridge and become a part of the timeline of your life.

You are ok and you will be ok.   Don't let today's annoyances [large or small] get you down.

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

Miracle

There are many miracles in this daily journey of life.

On Wednesday I woke up at 2:30 am.  We drove to the airport and flew to California as I had work to do for my sister.  I slept a bit on the plane, but I was exhausted...  It felt like I was having a near death experience.

I went to bed on Wednesday night at 6:30 which was 9:30 Florida time.  Then the miracle happened.  The miracle of sleep.  The miracle of rejuvenation.  The miracle of waking up refreshed.  Thursday morning I woke at 4:30am, ready to tackle the day.

After how I felt the night before, that was truly a miracle.

We have much to be thankful for.

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

making it work

Recently heard: "we can make it work, we can always make it work."

This is a very constructive attitude to bring to the table.  It reminds me of this:  "blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape."

What ever you or your organization may be facing, you are probably able to adjust and change much more than you think.  

Once you get past your reservations, step into the new and it will be fine.

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

Change

The one thing that is constant is change.  The only thing that cannot be changed is change.

We humans are fine with change as long as it doesn't affect me.  But in this life, we must grow accustomed to the fact that nothing stays the same.

They tore down my grade school.  South City View...

They closed the church that I was baptized in:  Zion Lutheran Church...

I am still here.  We survived.  Everything is still ok.

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

Birthday Cards and scam

Let's start w the scam... some people have received a facebook friend invite from me.  It is not me.

the account is @jeff.brinkman.586674  This is not me.  Do not accept.  Do not click.  Delete it.

Now on to today's post...

Sometimes people tell me that I am too serious.  So here is a light post that features two cards that I received for my birthday last month.

Made me smile.  Hope it made you smile too!!!

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

living scared

Living your life scared of going to hell will cause you to miss a life of love.

Decide which God you believe in:  the God who judges or the God who loves.  That choice will say everything about how you feel about day to day living.

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

If you want to listen to last Sunday's sermon, here is the link...

click here for the sermon

story

I heard a story the other day about a man who was burned out.  He was exhausted.  He had lost the joy of living.  He decided to take a retreat to spend time with Tibetan Monks.

When he got to Tibet, he complained about the altitude, the amount of hiking and the food.

He had left his surroundings of home, but brought himself along on the journey.

Moral of that story is this:  if we are going to find renewal in this life, we need to do more than change our surroundings.  We need to change our attitudes.

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

when someone passes

When someone passes that we care about, it hurts.  The greater the hurt, the greater was the love.

Many random emotions come to us when someone dies...

Shock.  Grief.  Anger. Disbelief. Repeat...

Then I hope that we can come to an appreciation.  I hope that we can think of the person and savor the blessing of knowing them.

As I work thru my recent loss, I am able to celebrate the wonderful life of my friend.  We have so much to be thankful for.

Enjoy your friends.  Love your peeps.  Nothing lasts forever.

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

Kathy Rice

Last Sunday... It was a nice day. I got up and had a cuppa coffee. Feeling good. Got dressed for church. Had a nice drive to Juno Beach.  I led the Service and preached the sermon thought everything went fine.  It’s a good day.  I’m in a meeting after church with a joint discernment team.  Meetings going great really good people.

My phone starts to buzz. It’s on silent, but it’s buzzing. I picked it up and looked at it.

Kathy Rice died.
What?  WHAT???

I exclaimed out loud and interrupted the meeting. I didn’t mean to. I apologized.

It’s a complete shock. One year older than me- young- nice- friendly, kind, and an important piece of the Fort Pierce First United Methodist Church.

Kathy Rice died.  What a loss.  She greeted me and others every Sunday.  She was quick with a smile and a hug.  She was a unique, warm amazing peron.

The quote at the top of this blog came from her.

She was a fantastic human and she will be dearly missed.

Also from her facebook page...

I join the many who will miss her...

30 years ago

Thirty years ago I wore this tie on Sunday morning...

This was the Sunday when we had outdoor worship.
Bill Hampton presented Woods Chapel with the first
grant check to build a new building. 
I would say this is August 1996.

I still have the tie... since I have started preaching in Juno Beach at Ocean View, some of my ties are coming out of mothballs.

hanging in the closet...

Doesn't hardly even look like the same person... 30 years... where did the time go?  Heck, where did the hair go???

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

spirituality

Spirituality is an interesting topic.  What makes someone spiritual?  You have, and I have heard it all.

Learn the Bible to be spiritual.  Go to church to be spiritual.  Attend Sunday School class or Bible Study to be spiritual.

The problem with all of those ideas is that we all know people who know the Bible, attend all the classes and never miss church, but are mean and selfish.  There is nothing spiritual about them.

I read this somewhere and it made the sermon las Sunday...

"Spiritually developed people are those who have learned to set aside their comfort and personal preference for the sake of the mission."

I love that.

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

to break the will

In my family, my mother was my primary abuser. She felt it was her job to break the will of the child. She worked hard at her task. We were to tow the line and if we ever embarrassed her, there would be hell to pay. She wanted us to be acceptable in society and acceptable to God. And so we were shamed, guilted, beaten and ignored - repeat.

It has been said that you can learn something from everyone. From some people you learn the right way to do things. From other people you learn the wrong things to do.

I am so glad that we did not raise our children the way that my mother raised us.

May every pain of the past be a launching pad for love, today and in the future. May we who were hurt as children rise up and proclaim to our families and the world that God loves us just the way we are.

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

If you want to listen to last Sunday's sermon, here is the link...

click here to watch worship 7-27-25

when grace has a but...

When grace has a but, it is a sign that we still don't get it.

When our brain says, God loves us as long as we do such and such, we still don't get it.  When we think that we understand grace but it is conditional, we have not yet found grace.

Chuck the but.  Get rid of the conditions.

God loves you.  Just as you are.

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

grace or guilt

In high demand religious systems critical thinking is turned against yourself and you begin to cannibalize your self-esteem. Your self-esteem becomes dependent upon your following the rules and being good. The system has so infiltrated your heart and mind that eventually they don't need to guilt you any more because you just do it to yourself.

How sad.  And what a painful way to live.

It takes hard work to get to the other side, but it can be done. The first step is to recognize that what you were taught is not helpful. The second step is to retrain your brain. God loves me, God loves me, God loves me... over and over and over again until that becomes the main theme that your thought system is organized around.

God does love you - no matter what.  Mercy rejoices over judgment. Free yourself from the past and accept God's amazing love.

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

From Kim

My friend Kim saw this recently at an establishment...

I will choose love until it becomes who I am!!!  I love that!!!

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

Smack!

From time to time people will ask me a question when I have food in my mouth.  I am unable to answer at that time.  I might want to, but I just can't.

Here is why... when I was growing up, one of the many rules was that you do not talk with food in your mouth.  If you did, my mother would pop up out of her seat, she was lightening quick, and smack you across the mouth.

While I didn't like it when it happened to me, I loved it when it happened to my sisters because food would go flying out of their mouth.

Such treatment leaves a mark on you.  I just can't talk with my mouth full.  Let me chew it up and swallow it and then we can talk.

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

Posted on the wall

I have always said that I would rather have 10 people who were totally biblically illiterate and loved others, than 1,000 who could quote scripture and pronounce Mesopotamia but had no heart for the poor.

Posted on a wall at the Ocean View UMC in Juno Beach Florida:

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

stability

I was hanging out with my friend Bruce.  We got to talking about how good life has been.  About how many things that we have to be thankful for.

I mentioned that I was thankful that my children got to live in the same town and go to grade school, junior high and high school in the same system. I doubt that they realize what a blessing this is when your dad is a Methodist preacher. Usually you move every 3-4 years and your kids are pulled away from their friends and their schools several times along the way.

Bruce said, "you should have them talk to me."  This is his life experience...

My dad was a school teacher and coach. He was demanding and had high expectations for his students and athletes as well as his family. Because of his need to help others excel along with his need to be wanted and feel significant he would decide that he needed to find a new place to start over and we as a family began the cycle over at each stop along this journey.

Here is my journey through the school years:

    Kindergarten through 2nd grade - Cumberland, IA

    3rd grade through 8th grade - Marcus, IA

    9th grade - Chico, CA

    10th grade - Live Oak, CA

    11th grade through High School graduation - Alturas, CA

The story didn't end there. After my graduation, my family moved to Missouri where two out three of my younger siblings graduated high school and the youngest had three stops in Kansas before graduating.  

. . . 

You can imagine the disruption to the family and individual lives such a journey make.

I am going to send this blog to my children so I am sure that they read it.  We all have so much to be thankful for.

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

Sheep and Goats

In Mt 25 we have the Parable of the Sheep and Goats... In the parable, the master explains who is in and who is out.  Who makes it into the kingdom and who does not.

The church would tell you that to be in the in group you must do the following:

• believe the right formula
• be baptized
• go to church
• read the bible
• pray
• oh yes and give 10%

According to the church, these are the things that make good Christians.

Put the master in the parable has a completely different criteria.  None of the above items are mentioned as leading to righteousness.

The righteous, those who are welcomed into the kingdom, simply reached for the least of these.

They fed the hungry.  They brought water to the thirsty.  They visited those in prison.  They welcomed in the stranger.

That is all.  They showed kindness.  No other religious behavior was required.

How are you spending your time and efforts?  Are you following a religious prescription that you received from your church or upbringing?  Or are you reaching for the least of these?

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

more Jesus, less Paul

If you are like me, the faith that you were taught was based more on the teachings of Paul than Jesus. Why would that be? Why would the church lift up things Paul said more often that what Jesus said?

One reason is because Paul is more legalistic and the church could use that heaviness and guilt to keep people in line.

Another reason is because Paul is more black and white and Jesus often speaks in parables which have several possible interpretations. The church has never been high on open minded thinking.

Here is a list of Jesus' parables. How many of them do you know?

38 Parables of Jesus Overview Chart

1 New Cloth and New Wineskins Matthew 9:16–17 Mark 2:21–22 Luke 5:36–39
2 The Lamp On a Stand Matthew 5:14–16 Mark 4:21–25 Luke 8:16–18
3 The Wise and the Foolish Builders Matthew 7:24–27 Luke 6:47–49
4 The Two Debtors Luke 7:41–43
5 The Rich Fool Luke 12:16–21
6 The Watchful Servants Mark 13:34–37 Luke 12:35–40
7 The Faithful Servant Matthew 24:45-51 Luke 12:42–48
8 The Barren Fig Tree Luke 13:6–9
9 The Sower Matthew 13:3–23 Mark 4:3–20 Luke 8:5–15
10 The Weeds Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
11 The Growing Seed Mark 4:26–29
12 The Mustard Seed Matthew 13:31–32 Mark 4:30–32 Luke 13:18–19
13 The Yeast Matthew 13:33 Luke 13:20–21
14 The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl Matthew 13:44–46
15 The Net Matthew 13:47–50
16 The Householder Matthew 13:52
17 The Lost Sheep Matthew 18:12–14 Luke 15:3–7
18 The Master and Servant Luke 17:7–10
19 The Unforgiving Servant Matthew 18:23–35
20 The Good Samaritan Luke 10:30–37
21 The Friend at Night Luke 11:5–13
22 The Wedding Feast Luke 14:7–14
23 The Great Banquet Luke 14:16–24
24 The Tower Luke 14:28–33
25 The Lost Coin Luke 15:8–10
26 The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11–32
27 The Unjust Steward Luke 16:1–13
28 The Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16:19–31
29 The Workers In the Vineyard Matthew 20:1–16
30 The Persistent Widow Luke 18:1–8
31 The Pharisee and the Tax Collector Luke 18:9–14
32 The Two Sons Matthew 21:28–32
33 The Tenants Matthew 21:33–44 Mark 12:1–11 Luke 20:9–18
34 The Wedding Banquet Matthew 22:1–14
35 The Fig Tree Matthew 24:32–35 Mark 13:28–31 Luke 21:29–33
36 The Ten Virgins Matthew 25:1–13
37 The Talents Matthew 25:14–30 Luke 19:12–27
38 The Sheep and Goats Matthew 25:31–46

May you find a revitalization of grace in your life through the stories of Jesus.

And while you are at it, let Paul go.

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

the frailty of life

The scripture says that we humans are like grass.  Here briefly and then vanishing.

Last week when I was sick, I actually wondered if I was dying.  I did not know what was wrong and it was scary.  

Writing at this point, I am glad that I was not dying, but it does remind me that one day I will.  One day we all will.

How important it is to appreciate every day, every moment, because each moment along the way, we get one day closer to our last.

I hope that yours and mine are not for quite some time.

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

July 4 revisited

On July 4th  I posted about how fortunate we are to have been born in America. I mentioned that we have won the lottery...

Food for thought... my friend Terry the Painter wrote in to say, "Amen brother, we have won the lottery. I understand that statistics show that most lottery winners squander their good fortune."

May we work hard and stay committed so that we do not squander our blessings.

Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a term that many in the church world use to describe the process of a person replacing the faith of their youth with something that is more loving.

So many of us were taught who the good ones and the bad ones were.  So many of us grew up in the fear of God.

It is hard to deconstruct the faith of our youth.  But, it can be done.  It takes openness, reading, and practice.  It takes becoming comfortable with questions.  Things that we could not question when we were young, we must learn to question if we would have a love based faith.

I want to put the judgmental God behind me.  I want to live for the God of love.  Deconstruction.  It is a very good thing.

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

Yes I did not post yesterday

Nothing is wrong with your computer.  Wednesday afternoon I got sick.  As sick as I have been in a long time.  I think that it was food poisoning from lunch.

Anyway, I am feeling better now.

Here's to feeling better!!!  Sometimes we don't appreciate health until it is compromised.

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

A new commandment

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he gave a new commandment...

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Besides asking his followers to love, he made it pretty clear that them showing love would be the sign of his followers.

If we don't love, then everyone has a right to question if we are followers. And those who claim to follow, but do not show love, can probably claim allegiance to another teacher.

Love.  It's not just the main thing, it's the only thing.

If you want to watch or listen to Sunday's sermon, click on the link below...

if you want to watch or listen to last weeks sermon, click on this link

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

make people happy

My friend Joyce sent me a note about a person in her church that has a very positive outlook on life.  If you ask this person "what do you do?" "can you tell me about yourself?" "what do you like to do?"

They respond with this:  "I just like to see if I can make people happy."

I love that.  What a fantastic way for a person to spend their time.

Let's see if we can make someone happy today!!!

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

culture vs strategy

I am pretty sure that enculturating is not a word. I am going to use it anyway.
Enculturating is the process of building the culture of your organization, business or church. Or it is the process of changing the culture.   It is done one person at a time.

Many cultures are broken.   Themes of power and control can quickly harm a culture.  Big ideas without legs can harm a culture.  Anything that is not relevant or normal can harm a culture.   A lack of joy, a lack of hard work, and any number of things can create a negative culture.

That is where you and I come in.  You can affect the culture of your organization.   Even if you are not in charge, you can effect positive change.  You can be the one server at the restaurant that everyone wants.  You can be the one cashier at the grocery store that people wait in line for.   You can be the one friendly person at your church.

Here are the steps to build a positive culture.
1. Love one another. Love everyone. See people as valuable. Invest in them.
2. Maintain an outward focus. It is not about me, it is about our mission.
3. Reduce organization and meetings. Keep it simple. Don't torture people by talking things to death.
4. live each day with Joy, authenticity and excellence.
5. And finally, love one another.

You can make a difference in your world.  You are already leaving a trail, either positive or negative.  We are not here forever.  Why not join the positive voices and bring love and joy to your organization or church.  You can make a difference in your cubicle, your pew, your community.

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