Lead with Love, Pt. 3

Every good sermon has 3 points.  Here is the end of the 3 part series on "lead with love."   [although I hope that the blog always point us to lead with love]  The series was interrupted yesterday by International Talk like a Pirate day.  Which I would say this to, love is important, but so is talking like a pirate on September 19.

Lead with love means that I am not here to take from you.  I am here to see you, to care about you and to invest in you.  My entire posture in life needs to shift away from self and towards me learning to love.

Saying "lead with love" is one thing.  Learning to do it, learning to make yourself 2nd, is another indeed.

I am not here to take from you.  I am not here to use you for my benefit.  I am here to show love.  It is a total life paradigm change.

May we all be willing to do the hard work to move away from a self-oriented existence to one that leads with love towards others.

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

Talk like a Pirate Day!!!

RRR matey! It's here again. National talk like a Pirate day.

What does a pirate say on his 80th birthday???  I'm Eighty!  [aye matey]

What do you say to a pirate captain with one eye?  Aye Captain.

What do you say to a pirate captain with two eyes?  Aye Aye Captain.

What kind of movies do pirates watch? Rated RRR

Why are pirates cool??? They just RRR

What is a pirate's favorite letter???

RRR you say, no it's The C

A pirate walks into a bar. The bartender say, Hey I haven't seen you in months. You look terrible. What happened to your leg? The pirate says, RRR a cannon ball took my leg off at the knee so now I have this wooden leg.

The bartender says, and what about your hand? How did you get that hook? RRR the pirate says, I was in a sword fight, and right before I run the bloke thru, he chops off my hand. So now I have this hook.

The bartender say, and you eye? How did you get the patch? The pirate says, RRR don't che know, a seagull pooped in my eye.

The bartender quite confused asks, you lost your eye because a seagull pooped in your eye? Nooo the pirate says, but don't che know it was the first day of my new hook!!!

I love that joke!

by the way, where do pirates buy their hooks? At the second hand store.

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

Lead with Love, Pt 2.

The second thing that I want to say about leading with love in your life is this... be willing to admit that you were wrong.

Apologize.  Those who cannot learn to apologize simply leave a trail of hurt.  What if part of our approach to life in general included this idea... "I may be wrong."  Where ever we start our discussions, no matter how strongly I feel about a thing, I may be wrong.

When we insist that we are right, we put ourselves above others.  When we begin with, "here are my ideas, but I may be wrong,"  we give others room to dialog with us.

Lead with love.

I may be wrong.  I open myself to you and your ideas.  I love you.

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

Lead w Love pt 1

Bishop Tom Berlin preached a sermon at Ft. Pierce First UMC.  The title was "lead with love."  You can guess what it was about.

When I think about leading with love, I think of many things.  First of all I think of the idea of actually seeing other people.  See the person taking your order at Taco Bell as a person.  See the other drivers not as enemy combatants but as people.  See the person that you disagree with as a person that God loves.

We cannot lead with love if we don't SEE other people.  Lead with love.

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

Tried your best

Coldplay sang, "when you try your best but you don't succeed."  I think that we have all had the experience of trying to do a thing or make something happen and it just doesn't work out as you planned.

In those moments I would say, keep trying to do the good.  Don't stop believing.  Doing the good is worth pursuing even when we fail a time or two, or 3.

You have never really failed until you quit.  Don't quit.

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

make it last

After Charlie Kirk's murder I was watching the news.  The news anchor had a couple of US congressmen on.  They were from different sides of the aisle, but they are good friends.  They are among the few who are committed to working together for the betterment of the country.

The news anchor compared the feelings that many have now with how people felt after 9-11. 

General feelings of How could this happen?  And a general quiet, calm and coming together...

The anchor mentioned that after 9-11, the peaceful good feelings lasted for about a month.  She asked the two congressmen what could be done to keep the cooperation and kindness going.

I have an answer to that.  Here I go:  

Somehow in America a culture of hate and division has been created.  How about we stop reporting when a politician says something hateful.  How about you don't get news coverage if you bash people.  How about instead of modeling division, the news media holds up those who are kind.

Maybe something would change.

I know that no one in the news will ever read this, but I will tell  you my friends that we can create culture in our homes, in our work places and anywhere that we go.  Those who choose negative, destructive behavior should not be promoted.  We need to model kindness and uphold healthy behavior.  

You can, I can create and sustain positive culture one person, one day, one moment at a time.

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

On the death of Charlie Kirk

I was going to write something about the murder of this man, but my friend Wendy Minshal wrote some great words.  She is one of the most kind people that I know.  She is the pastor of the Peculiar UMC in Peculiar MO.

Here is part of what she posted on Facebook:

I can’t sleep, my mind Is spinning, and my heart aches.
I want the hate to stop. I want there to be peace on earth, in our country, in our communities, churches, families, homes. I want peace for the human heart.
I don’t want someone’s (ANYONE’s!) death celebrated. I don’t want school shootings (or ANY violent death/attack) ignored.
It doesn’t matter who’s to blame for the division, or the way hate has manifested in the human heart… It matters that we stop it.
It MATTERS what we say… how we act… the empathy we feel AND the empathy we withhold- It ALL matters.

Sometimes it is hard to see the good. But this is still our father's world, and there is still much good to see.

still mad

Something happened the other day that I am still mad about.  I woke up the day after and I was still mad.  That is unusual.  I get mad, but I don't stay mad.  And it is rare that I don't sleep off a mad.

But this person won the award.  What they said to me was so hurtful and ridiculous!!!

This person is not a blog reader.  We have helped them more over the years than any other person in any church that I have been involved with.

Some people are just detached from reality.

The moral of this story is this:  Keep being good to people, regardless of how they respond to you.  Keep working on forgiving.  The mad will eventually go away.

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

a bigger picture

My friend Terry wrote in and said this, "Can you see a bigger picture? That question alone draws me closer to God."

I would add... can you see a picture besides the one that shows up conveniently in your head? Are you open to ideas that are outside of yourself?

When we choose to look past our preconceived notions, it always draws us closer to reality and to God.

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

The Zoo

Last Friday I went to the zoo with my daughter Allison and her children, my grandchildren:  Bella age 5 and Cruz age 2 1/2.

How long has it been since I was at the zoo?  Probably since my children were young.... 25 years anyway.   Well, the Melbourne Florida zoo is awesome.

Lots of shade, lots of animals that you can see, a train ride and lots of children's activities.

We were told that this is a very nice giraffe.
Willing to stick his neck out for anyone.

 Just Lion around.

What do you get when you cross an elephant with a 
Rhino???  Elephino.

Baby Zebra

Babe, Paul Bunyan's Ox.

On display now through Thanksgiving!!!

Bella watches the Bear eat.

Two lovely bald eagles.  Both left flightless
after accidents.  Very nice to see.

lots of hungry carp.

Bobcat.  Don't let your domestic cats outside in Florida.

Flamingos think they are smart.  
They are always trying to get a leg up on you.

Alli w Cruz and Bella.  Flamingos for background singers.

We had a blast!!!

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

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.