Cuba Cruise Pt 3 - Havana

The Cuba Cruise took out of Port Canaveral, a short drive from Orlando.  It sailed to Key West and then to Havana.  There were many questions about whether or not we would be able to get off the ship and walk  around freely in Havana.  Yes there are some laws on the books that restrict US visitors in Cuba, but they are easily complied with.  Don't let the cruise line force you into paying for an expensive shore excursion.  We walked right off the boat with no problem.

statue of Jesus overlooking Havana Bay

fort at entrance to Havana Bay

there are many small squares where people
find water, a bench and music

typical street in Havana

off the beaten bath it gets pretty bad

some buildings looked bombed out

lots of street vendors

open air market

meat for sale

there are many nice areas of Havana

lunch included singers

beautiful church

more music

old Spanish fort

back to the boat

back to Jesus

We had a great time.  I hope to go back some day.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Cuba Cruise Pt 2 Key West

Key West is the southern most part of the Untied States.  They have a nice little museum of boats and rafts that people have ridden on to get to the US.  They have shopping and restaurants.  They have a rocky beach with no waves.  They have jet skis and other water sports. 

And they have Duval Street.  Duval Street is like Bourbon Street in New Orleans, only not quite as bad.

The boat docks in Key West and a tram takes you to Duval Street where you shop and eventually end up in a restaurant listening to some old guy playing Margaritaville.

We had a blast.

Tram from the boat to Duval Street

USCGC Ingham - Part of the Key West maritime museum

Duval St.

typical Key West joint

lots of attractive architecture

restaurnt where we finally crashed

Irene Price listens to Margaritaville.  Note dog on guitar case.

The dog was a real hit!

Jenny and Chrystal.  Oh how great to be young.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Cuba Cruise

A few months ago I went on a cruise to Key West and Cuba.  My wife Cathy, daughter Jennifer, her friend Chrystal and Fred and Irene Price all went along.  We had a marvelous time.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba he nationalized all of America's gambling houses in Cuba.  Consequently we shut them out and embargoed them.  They went over to the Russians.

The embargo ended American goods and American cars going into Cuba.  If you go to Cuba today, you see a few new American cars, lots of foreign cars, lots of Russian cars, and plenty of beautiful American cars from pre-embargo days.

I love cars.  I loved seeing the old cars in Cuba.  Every street was a car show.

Note statue of Jesus in the background

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Why don't my children go to church?

My kids, for the most part, do not go to church.  Although raised in church, they choose as young adults, not to go.

Why.

They would tell you that they are tired of the judgmental and homophobic attitudes.  They would tell you that they are tired of rituals and sermons that are irrelevant.

People talk to me all the time about how worried they are about their children.  My children don't go to church! They tell me.

I think they are worried that their kids will go to hell.  They feel that they have failed their children.  They want me to go convert their kids. 

Let me ask a question.  Is it our job to get out kids into church or to love them?  Is it our job to make them think the way that we do or to love them?  Is it our job to press them into our mold or to love them?

Maybe if we just focused on loving them, our relationship with them would improve.  They don't need our invitations to church.  They need our love.  God is sometimes in the middle of church.  God is always in the middle of love.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

commandment vs commission part 3

I think that the church has focused on the wrong thing.  We tried to convert people instead of loving them.

When was the last time you went door to door anyway?  When was the last time that you struck up a random conversation with another human about faith?  For the most part we don't do it, because it is awkward.  It feels awkward to us and it feels terrifyingly awkward to them.  It does not feel like love.  Because it isn't.

You have to earn the right to talk to someone about vital things.  Recently someone got in my grill about how I raised my children.  I walked away.  They have not known me long enough to try to speak into something so precious.  You must spend the time with someone and earn the right for deep conversations.

It is the same with faith.  Many of the people that are out actively trying to convert others are doing more harm than good.  On the other hand, those that are out actively loving others are filling the world with good.  They are filling the world with God.

To love someone feels natural.  It is what we were created to do.  Do what comes natural.  Love them.  Leave the converting up to  God.  If others see love from us, God has much more to work with.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

commission vs commandment pt 2

When we go out to convert someone, we make them our project.  We have what they need and we are going to make sure they get it, whether they want it or not.

On the other hand, when we love someone, they simply receive the love.  They are not our project and they are not really even the object of our love.  Our love is not directed towards them, our love is directed towards everyone.  They just happen to be in earshot or heart-shot.

I want to suggest that the best way to convert someone is to love them.  If we can't love someone then we will never convert them.  Our words will always sound to them as a resounding, repeating gong that just won't stop.

Light of the world, shine on me, love is the answer.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Sunday Sermon Audio 10-7-18 David and Goliath

click here to listen

commandment vs commission

I grew up on the great commission, most famously found in Mt 28 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

I did not grow up on the great commandment which is found through out the Bible in the Old and New testaments, "Thou shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself."

The great commission made us militant. Christians went door to door and all over the world to tell people to get saved. The resulting attitudes too often sounded like this-

"we are right and you are wrong"
"we are in and you are out"
"become like us or you are going to hell."

It is no wonder that the average person in our country is sick of church.

What if we had gone out to the world and to our neighbors and just tried to love them? Maybe the church would be thriving today.

Fact is, where ever Christians are engaged in loving others, the church is thriving today.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Not That

Not That.  No.  I am not that.
But sometimes I really feel that.  Like that thing.

 Sometimes I feel lonely.  Sometimes I feel angry.  Sometimes I feel perplexed.
Worse is that sometimes I come to believe that the lonely and the me are one in the same.  I sometimes allow myself to be defined by how I feel. 

So that when I say I am perplexed, it feels as if the core of my identity is perplexed.

But no.  No.  I am not that.  And neither are you.  We can feel lonely or happy or angry or giddy or perplexed but we are not defined by our feelings.  Feelings come and go.

I am, you are, more than your feelings. 

You are God's child.  You are loved by him.  You are ok.  I am ok.  It is well with our souls.  Do not for one minute allow yourself to think that you are defined by the feeling of the day.  It will come and it will go.  Only God's love and grace to you is consistent.

Put on the grace t-shirt and let his grace define you.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

What if your child went missing?

My friend Susan wrote in to share this story....

Love and Light

I have been following a story for approximately 51 days, since August 1st , that has occupied my thoughts and prayers constantly. 28-year-old Samantha Sayers went missing on August 1st while on a solo day hike at Vesper Peak, northwest of Seattle WA. She was seen at the peak, and descending some time afterward, but never made it back to her car as planned by 6pm. Her fiancé became worried and drove from Seattle to the mountain, and called 911 around 1am. The Snohomish Sheriff’s dept and other search and rescue groups have been searching ever since with no sign of Sam. I became aware of this story because Sam’s mom, Lisa, is someone I work with long-distance. I have never met her; she lives in Pennsylvania. I have listened to her LIVE updates on her facebook page DAILY. My “mom” heart is devastated for her and her family. I feel like I know her after 51 days. I feel her pain. I pray and pray and pray that God will lead someone to Sam and give them peace. Honestly, I have been so blessed by this family. That may sound funny, but who knows how we would feel, act, or react if we were in this position? To have a child, no matter what age, go missing with no sign. The worry, the anxiety, the anguish, the FEAR. Lisa has FAITH. She is HOPEFUL. Does she cry and fall apart sometimes? Of course! But I have learned SO much from her steadfast belief that God is in control, no matter what. If someone is negative, she just asks everyone to “bless and release” and not say anything bad about them or be angry with them. “Bless and release”!! I love that. There are approximately 33,000 followers on her facebook page praying for Sam. This has become bigger than just Sam missing. This is bringing people together in love, caring, and support. There have been donations, prayers, yellow ribbons across America, spreading the word to try and get assistance for the family once the official search was called off. Here is what Lisa posted:

Love and Light goes for everyone. You can treat others with respect whether they agree with your beliefs or not. That is what love and acceptance is. That is what represents and stands for. #findsamsayers

If someone disagrees with you or is negative, BLESS AND RELEASE. The other message here is that Sam is all about Love and Light. Be who you are. You be You. Let Me be Me. Love and Light. Bless and Release. In the face of such adversity, to be teaching us these lessons is a blessing, and needs to be passed along. Please pray for this family. #findsamsayers

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

I hate that store

I have a friend who hates a particular store.  She avoids it like the plague.

Last week she found herself headed there, dreading the encounter.  Afterwards, she wrote the
following to me...

Sometimes we go into a situation or a place not looking forward to it because we have had bad experiences in the past...like Walmart! However when walking out of the store, a man got in the way of my cart and made a funny comment about women drivers. I laughed and smiled and he said thank you for smiling, you made my day!  That positive encounter with another human made the trip worthwhile.  Sometimes it’s good when our preconceived notions of what to expect are wrong.

I comment...I am glad that this person survived the trip to Wallyworld.  I am glad that she saw the good.  For me, the effort to see the good must begin when we are pulling into the parking lot.  Have a plan... Look for a way to make a tense moment better.  Maybe in the future, she can go there and intentionally try to graze people with her cart just to make the trip fun!!!

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Consumer Reports

I am a consumer and I am making a report.  Be very careful when buying things on Amazon or Ebay.  I try to do my homework and I can tell you that there are wide discrepancies in prices for the very same items.

My wife has a Roomba Vacuum.  It charges up and drives itself around the house.  When the cat was younger and felt up to it, he would ride around on it looking for mice.  Well, the spinner brush module went bad.  I took the Roomba apart and did some trouble shooting.  I priced the module.  $66.00 on Amazon.  I read the reviews and found that you can buy the exact same part on the Roomba website for $18.  That is a savings of $48 that I can now use for chocolate, Harbor Freight tools or a contribution to the church.

Today the water valve is out in the refrigerator.  No the cat does not

ride the refrigerator.  On Amazon, the price that shows up first is $57.99.  With a little searching I found the same item on Amazon for $17.00. I think I am going to go to TGIF for dinner tonight.

Don't jump at the first item.  Sometimes you find a better deal for the same item.  Sometimes a little exploration pays off.  Patience is a virtue.

Jeff Brinkman, part time editor
Consumer Reports

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Sermon Audio from Sunday for those interested- topic: we are all called

click here to listen

I am not crazy

Before I begin, happy birthday to my Dad, Paul Brinkman who died in 2002.  I miss him.

Now to the post.  

I am not crazy.

A jingle went through my head.  I started singing it.  

"yummy yummy I digga digga bowl full new kind of breakfast cereal oceans of energy...."

My wife and daughters say that I am crazy and they have never heard of it.  I must be making it up.  But I look on line.  I think it is a fruit loops commercial from when I was a kid.  I search and search on line and on youtube.  

Nothing.

I know that I am not crazy. 

I keep working on it.... for weeks....

Finally I get some more words... "oceans of energy, we call it Kellogg's Puffa Puffa Rice.  Aye-A Aye-A"

And armed with the name of the cereal, I find the jingle and the commercial that was from 1967.

Here it is, enjoy it!  Don't let it get stuck in your head!

click here to listen to the jingle- its one minute long, you will love it.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

trivia

I was walking through a store the other day and I heard some guys discussing Ellie May and Jethro.  I thought about how much I love trivia.

What show were Ellie May and Jethro on?
The Beverly Hillbillies.
What was the name of the banker's secretary on that show?
Miss Hathaway.

What is the name of the dog on the Jetson's?
Astro.

Who are these people pictured below?

star of my first cartoon

sidekick of the above

what is her name and what show was she on?

who is this?  what is this?  From what cartoon?

Scroll down for the answers.....




The star of my first cartoon is Quick Draw McGraw

His side kick is Baba Louie

The woman is the Sea Hag from Popeye

The animal is Popeye's dog.... named "Jeep."

That was a lot of fun for me.  I hope you have a great day!

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Len Dawson

I just thought of this story the other day.

I was 11 or so.  Lenny Dawson was the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs.  My mom was dropping me and two friends, Bob Berry and Greg Fisher at the Red Bridge bowling alley.

As we got out of the car, Bob said, "look, there is Len Dawson."  I thought that was pretty cool.

We got to the door and I held the door for our group.  I continued to hold it for Len Dawson.  A couple of kids were coming in too.  I held the door and said to them, "look, that is Len Dawson."  One of the boys said, "yes I know, he is my dad."

I felt kind of dumb.  The first of many such times to come in my life.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

I was here first

This is not one of my best stories....

So the buffet is packed. On a cruise I only eat in the buffet because I don’t like to get dressed up for dinner and I have no interest in meeting the Captain. Just keep the ship on course, OK?

So I have already had breakfast but now Dave is finally awake and he wants to go. So I go in with him to keep him company while he eats. He is shy and insecure and needs people to chaperone him.

Every table is full. I look around. I see one table that is being cleared by a young man from the Philippines. I head for it. I hope I get there first. I notice a young woman pushing around the back side a couple of tables over. She about knocks over an older woman [I am 61 so older to me is up there] she about knocks over the older woman trying to beat me to the table.

I win. I sit down.

Then to my astonishment, she sits down. She looks away like she does not see me and the turns towards me and acts surprised.

She-this is my table.
Me- it certainly is not, I was here first
She- this is my table, you have to move.
Me- I was here first and you know it.
She – this is my table, get going old man.
Me-[pausing for what to say…. Trying to gather the better part of myself]
        I finally got up to leave and said, I hope you enjoy yourself.

I was snippy. She was a b word. Besides that I was there first. If my children who are about the age of this woman ever treat an old person like that, I will personally find them and keel haul them.

Reflections on this story….

• Dave should have rolled out of bed at 730 and there would have been plenty of tables.  [I keep throwing him under the bus...not fair, he is a good man]
• There are some people that are just rude. They don’t care about anyone but themselves.
• I should not have been snippy. But in my defense I was there first.  [Never mind Jeff there is no defense for your snippy attitude.]

This incident has hung with me, the sting of her words. I am processing it, trying to release it. There are 4,000 people on this ship. 500 of them look like her. I see her everywhere and I wonder if she is going to come up to me and insult me again. Oh, whew, that was not her, just a look alike.

Even small encounters with people can be either joyful or painful. Small pains can linger like a splinter in one's hand. May we deliver less pain to others and more joy.

And I am not old, and I was there first.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Owl Picture

So I am on a cruise with my friend Dave. Actually I invited all of my real friends, Bill, Bruce, Jim, Paul, Karen [just kidding] Steve, Ed and Bobby. None of my friends could go so I asked Dave.

Dave is a good man. I learned on this cruise that he snores and sleeps a lot.

Anyway, I am drinking coffee in the café on deck 8. I am alone because Dave is still asleep. We have just docked at this little island in the Bahamas. Later today we will get off the ship, wade on the beach and pay for food and drinks that we could have had for free had we stayed on the ship.

So I am drinking coffee and reading a book in the café on deck 8. A cute little owl lands on the railing just outside of the window. I reach in my pocket to take out my phone to take a picture of him and my room key falls out. I snap one lousy picture and a well meaning cruise person from who knows what country taps me on the shoulder and says, you have dropped your room key…..

I said thank you, but what I wanted to say was leave me alone, you jerk, I am trying to take a picture of this owl before he flies away. My room key savior notices the owl, he says, look at owl! He gestures towards the owl and it gets spooked and flies away.

I wanted to punch the guy in the head. I was all ready to be entered into the annual Audubon Society photo contest and he had to mess things up.

Anyway if that is the worst that happens to me today, it is a beautiful day. By the way, that is not a bad way to look at things…. If that is the worst that happens, we are ok. I once knew a man and wife whose baby died. Later they had another. When this baby was born the doctor came out and said, your baby has a deformed foot. The man said, that is all? Baby is ok other than that? Ok, we can live with that. If that is the worst that happens, we are ok.

Probably the things that are happening to us are not as critical, not as horrible as we first think. I will have other opportunities to take other pictures of birds.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Sunday Morning Words

I put this sticker in my Bible when I was 25. 
Just a few years ago. 
It used to say, "Lord fill my mouth
with worth while stuff-
and nudge me when I've said enough."

A few months ago, my friend Hubert Neth had an article in the monthly Missouri Methodist Magazine.  They still send it to me... I am glad to get it but I expect to be cut off at any moment. 😡

Anyway Hubert was writing about a man in his parish years ago that made a significant life change.  When Hubert asked the man about how he came to that decision, the man replied, "it was from listening to his sermons on Sunday morning."

Hubert then wrote, "That was a sobering moment for me, I could get up on Sunday morning, go say my words then go home and lay on the couch and watch a football game.  For this man, those words led to a decision that altered the course of his life."

That story stuck with me.  Any preacher worth his or her salt will tell you that we sometimes struggle to come up with the right things to say.  [If your preacher thinks that they always hear from God, you should run the other direction...] Sunday can be a trying time for a preacher.  My words- are they my opinion or do they reflect something from God?  How can we really know?  They are usually things that I have thought about for months or years.

Yes, we preach the words and then go home to lunch and a nap.  But maybe, just maybe those words will fall into a person's heart in just the right way and they will make a change for the better.

It is a very sobering thought.  Oh Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight.

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

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I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

compliment

I received a compliment from my friend Steve the other day.  He said, thank you for "making the ordinary, wonderful."

Isn't this the trick in life that helps us to see the good?

We don't just see a seagull, we see amazing birds.
We don't just see a flower, we see a miracle.
We don't just see an annoying person, we see a child of God.
We don't just wake up and drudge through the day, we wake to the day with joy, as if resurrected from the dead.
We are not just alive, we are here to LIVE! L.I.V.E. LIVE!

Those things that seem ordinary and commonplace are indeed filled with the miraculous.  We forget this to our peril.  We remember this and find true joy.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Seagulls

Notes from a recent cruise with my friend Dave....

Seagulls.  What did they eat before people were around?  Seagulls seem to me to be a primitive bird that goes back a long way in evolution.  They are the garbage men and women of the beach.

On the pool deck there was a plate with a piece of pizza on it.  Although there were tons of people around, this one plate was neglected on the deck lounger.  The seagull swept in, full of confidence, and picked at the pizza.  Some people laughed, some took pictures, some tried to shoo it away.  He just kept eating.

That reminded me of a time when my wife was working in Clear Water Beach and staying at the Sand Key Marriott Hotel.  They have a wonderful outdoor restaurant area by the pool.  Cathy was eating a burger and fries and a seagull swept down right in front of her and picked a fry off of her plate!  Later the restaurant strung fishing line around the restaurant area to deter the birds from flying in.  I was there some months later and the string had done it's work.

No birds were flying around or swooping in for food.  Instead, now they hopped on one foot and

walked with a broken wing.  Defeated and maimed by the string, they stood around the perimeter like a group of beggars hoping for a handout.

If you come for a visit in Florida, watch out for the seagulls, they are persistent.  Except at the Sand Key Marriott where they have been subdued.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

Choose

From my friend Pat...

I went camping and floating this weekend on the Big Piney. (Dan Horn and I share a love for this river) It’s a “close to heaven” experience for me.

I love rivers. A river is tranquil, in part because it always knows where its going and has no doubts about what’s next. I can sit by the river and watch it go by: its motion with unwavering purpose, and that’s comforting. I don’t have to do anything.

Floating, being in the river, requires balancing gear, work (paddling), navigation of downed trees,

debris, rapids, shallows, and so on. Decisions made, effort asserted, choices made, risks taken. I have to do a lot.

Life, like a river, is always beautiful from far away. Up close it can be challenging, and sometime not so lovely. But if you want to be in life, if you want to have an impact, you have to jump in, do the work, and make choices. You have to suffer the stress of the rapids.

Christ calls us to get in the game. Its not always easy; it requires work, it requires choices, painful ones at time. But its what he has called us to do.

We all have to chose what we will do with a river, and with life. Not making a choice is a of course, a choice. At the end of the day, if you’re still on the river bank, you’ve not gone anywhere, you’ve buried the time, the treasure given you.

Choose.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise
October 23-31, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs

I can't fix it

I made a mistake.  I can't fix it.  It really doesn't affect anyone but me.  I didn't hurt anyone.  But the thing is over.

Yet, because I feel badly about it, I keep dragging it around like a ball and chain.

If you can fix a thing, fix it.  If you can apologize, do so.  If you can make amends, then get after it.  But for heavens sake Jeff if the thing is over and it can't be changed, then move on.

By dragging a thing around with us, all we do is sour our day and the day of anyone else that comes into contact with us.

Humans make mistakes.  Last time we checked you were human.  Let it go.

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs 

Yesterday's Sermon Audio - The 23rd Psalm

click here to listen

community

Not too long ago we had a funeral for a friend.  Although I had only known the man for a year, I loved him.

He had an ornery dry sense of humor.  The first day that I met him was the first Sunday that I preached at Ft. Pierce.  He came up after the service with his lovely wife and said, "I don't know what these other people thought of that, but I thought it was the worst sermon I have ever heard."

Then he gave a small smirk.  He was of course kidding.

He had me at hello.  I loved him.  So did lots of other people because the church was packed.  More people came to Stan's funeral than come to hear about Jesus on Easter Sunday.

Stan reached for people, and they loved him.  He had a community.

Forgive me, but I am now going to make this about me.  Sometimes in order to see the good, you have to acknowledge what painful thing is holding you back.

His funeral is exactly what mine should be like, but it won't be.  I have moved away from my community of 22 years and it is very difficult to replace.  My closest friends, my pall bearers, still live in Kansas City.  We had groups and friends and peeps.  We had something to do and someone to do it with any time of the day or night.

It originated at the church, but it became much bigger than the church.  It included lots of folks that had no connection to the church.

And now here we are, alone in Florida.

I thank all of my new friends in Ft. Pierce that reach out to me.  I hope that these relationships can continue to grow.....
I so appreciate each of you that love me.

From time to time we have to keep reminding ourselves that....

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

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/rc19102319x17768#.W3avNFJK3cs