vanity

Anthony deMello told the story:

"The Master frequently reminded his disciples that holiness, like beauty, is only genuine when it is unselfconscious. He loved to quote the verse:

"The rose blooms because she blooms,
and she does not ask why,
nor does she prune herself
in order to catch my eye."

And the saying: "A saint is a saint until he knows that he is one."

Vanity and arrogance are some of the most unbecoming of human traits.  There was a time in my life when I was a know-it-all.  I drove people crazy.  The worst thing about being stuck in such a condition of your life is that we can rarely see our own arrogance.  Only when others are hurt by it can we begin to see the dirt that flies off of our self-righteousness.

My dad used to say, "never blow your own horn, it just does not sound very good.  If the tune must be played, let it be played by others."

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

take in a goat

I told this story in church on Sunday, it is one of my favorites.

A man went to visit the Master, he said,  "I am in desperate need of help — or I'll go crazy. We're living in a single room — my wife, my children and my in-laws. So our nerves are on edge, we yell and scream at one another. The room is a hell."

"Do you promise to do whatever I tell you?" said the Master gravely.

"I swear I shall do anything," said the man.

"Very well. How many animals do you have?"

"A cow, a goat and six chickens," said the man.

"Take them all into the room with you. Then come back after a week."

The disciple was appalled. But he had promised to obey! So he took the animals in. A week later he came back, a pitiable figure, moaning, "I'm a nervous wreck. The dirt! The stench! The noise! We're all on the verge of madness!"

"Go back," said the Master, "and put the animals out."

The man ran all the way home. And came back the following day, his eyes sparkling with joy. "How sweet life is! The animals are out. The home is a Paradise, so quiet and clean and roomy!"

The moral of this story to me is that we tend to complain about things that really are not that bad.  No matter how bad a thing is, things can always get worse.  So we have the ongoing choice every day of seeing the good or not.  The choice is up to us.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

The idea of a thing

There is the idea of a thing and then there is the reality of a thing.  I have an idea about buying a car.  I see myself cruising along, feeling powerful in that car.  Then I buy the car and I have to make the payments and I discover a few mechanical problems with it.  The idea of a thing is quite often better than the actual thing.

There is the idea of getting that promotion.  You see yourself as happier, making more money and gaining prestige.  But then the promotion moves you to a new department, away from your friends.  Uncle Sam takes most of your raise and you have more headaches than prestige.  The idea of a think is quite often better than the actual thing.

The moral of this story is this.... don't waste today wishing for tomorrow.  Today's car may not be perfect but it is good.  Today's job may not be perfect but it is good.  Today's house, today's neighborhood, today's church may not be perfect, but it is good.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

expectations

We all have expectations regarding various parts of our lives.  We have expectations of our children, of our jobs, of our friends, and of our cars.  We want everything to start and run right, exactly up to our expectations.

I was talking to a friend the other day.  She reminded me that sometimes our expectations are not met.  Sometimes you can call people to account and get behavior changed.  Sometimes the mechanic can fix our cars.

But sometimes, we just have to accept the fact that our expectations are not going to be met.  We must as my friend said, "learn to grieve our expectations."  Sometimes we need to let go of a thing and realize that it is what it is, and life goes on.

Sometimes we find happiness becauase it all goes our way.  Sometimes we have to look harder to see the good.  If you are powerless to fix the thing, maybe it is time to grieve your expectations and move on.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

remedial speech

I had forgotten about this, but when I was in early elementary school I was put into a remedial speech class.  A couple times a week I was released from regular class to go down to the speech teacher's room where she would work with three of us.

I don't remember what my problem was exactly.  Nodes on the vocal cords from screaming too much maybe.  I just don't recall.  I do remember having to keep track of how many times I swallowed each day.  I carried around a pen and a 3 x 5 card and marked each swallow or cough.

Anyway, I evidently passed the course as you can see from my certificate here!  I am so appreciative of the teachers and other adults that exercised great patience in trying to raise me into adulthood.  I am sure that I delivered a good deal of gray hair to them.


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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

deflated

I felt a little deflated the other day. Something popped my balloon. I felt a little set aside. Meh.

Well if you live long enough that is going to happen. Not everything goes your way or mine, does it? What to do if you are feeling “meh?”

1. Don’t allow your mind to dwell on what happened. Think of good things. There are plenty of them. 
2. Engage with people. Find your friends. Being around good, positive folks can lift you from the doldrums.
3. Find something constructive to do. Make a difference in the world. I will take your mind off of your concerns.
4. Remember that this is only temporary. This feeling, this too shall pass.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

Orion

google image

Orion, is an equatorial constellation and so it is visible throughout the entire world.  It's brightest stars are Rigel and Betelgeuse.  When I was in Junior High I was in the astronomy club and I caught an interest in the stars.

Over the years I have watched Orion rise in the fall and set in the spring.  Last week I saw it for the first time in Florida.  The annual appearance of Orion has marked the years of my life.  From Jr. Hi. through college, seminary and every town that I have lived in along the way. 

People through out history have gazed up at the night sky and wondered about life, love and God.  The Psalmist says that "the heavens declare the glory of God."

Picture I took last week

I have posted about Orion several times over the years. In fact it appears to be a very common topic for me...
11-8-2007
4-14-2008
3-10-2009
12-31-2013
[if you view the blog at its web address www.canyouhearthebirdssing.blogspot.com, there is a search box in the upper left corner where you can type in anything you want and see if there has been any writing on that topic...]

 And now even as time marches on I consider my life, God, his creation, and the opportunities that we have every day to live, love and do good in his name.

Find a star or a constellation that speaks to you.  See the good.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

look what God did

I hear it all the time.  "God did this, God did that."  I cringe sometimes at the things that we humans blame God for.

God healed my child!  Praise God!
God did not heal my child.  I hate God.

God gave me the promotion!  Praise God!
God did not give me the promotion.  I'm not going to church anymore.

God did this.
God did that.
All is fine and good when the things that happen to you are what you want, but what happens when it does not go your way?  Where was the magic God then?

So I was watching the news.  A church in Florida was having a New Years Eve party, to keep the good Christians from going out and partying.  As per every New Years Eve, some people were out shooting guns.  A bullet from a mile away broke through a window in the fellowship hall and missed all of the people in the room.  Look what God did!

The problem with this of course is that some bullets do randomly other people by accident.  Where was God then?  Was he asleep?  How does our theology work then?

We oversimplify everything and recognize God's work by our comfort.  We need to stop defining God by his ability to fix our problems and instead lean on a God who is there for us and with us whether circumstance goes my way or not.

God did not pull the trigger.  Sometimes people do things.  Sometimes random things happen in this life.  Good things and difficult things, and God is still with us.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

A different time

I was raised in a different time.  Children were to be seen and not heard.  If your behavior was bad at home you could expect to be spanked, with the hand, a belt or hair brush.  If you were sassy you could  have your mouth washed out with comet cleanser or slapped across the face.

My parents never had any classes on mental health or relationships.  They were children of their time.  Respect was demanded and discipline was swift and merciless.

I think the thing that most of us carried into our adult lives was the constant use of shame and guilt.  It was just a common method of trying to control a person.  Here is one of my papers from second grade where the well meaning teacher wrote in the dreaded red ink pen.  "you should be ashamed of yourself."  Why?  Because I got an F?

I am so glad that we live in a different world.  I have always tried to resist delivering shame to my children, but I know that some gets thru.  I apologize for that, sincerely.

I am also very glad that God does not use shame and guilt on us.  Sure some preachers are always guilting people but that is them not God.  Jesus never shamed anyone.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

sermon audio from Sunday

Here is the link to Sunday's sermon

click here to listen to the 1-14-18 sermon

elementary class work

"Elk in the Forest"
crayola on matte

 So I was going thru the archives from my youth.  I found these pictures that I drew, early elementary I would guess.  The interesting thing about finding them is this.....

Had you asked me if I had childhood art work stored in the attic and what it was, I would not have been able to tell you.  But the moment I saw the pictures, I remembered making them.  I remember writing the barracuda report.  I remember making these pictures just like it was yesterday.

Odd how a brain works.

"Barracuda on the prowl"
crayola on matte

accompanying report

"Forest in Autumn"
water colors on matte

"Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria"
crayola on matte

Maybe I missed my calling?

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

Resolutions or not?

My friend Susan sent this in...

Resolutions or not?

For the past week, I’ve been thinking about this idea of making a resolution. So many make resolutions, starting the year determined and motivated! But, after a few weeks, the resolution goes by the wayside, and it is back to the status quo. Maybe we are resolving to do something we are not passionate about. Maybe it is too big of a goal, and although we want the result, we are not committed to putting in the work.

Some people resolve NOT to make a resolution. They don’t want to go on a diet, or start working out, or organize their homes more, etc. I would suggest that the kind of resolution we should be making is not for ourselves. We should be resolving to reach out, serve, help, and love others. Examples:

1. Random acts of kindness
2. Make and pass out blessing bags to people in need
3. Take a meal to friends or neighbors who are ill or have experienced loss
4. Shovel a neighbor’s driveway or mow their yard [Yes Susan lives in KC]
5. Invite a friend who is alone over for a meal or just to hang out
6. Send a card to someone just so they know you are thinking of them.
7. Volunteer to feed the homeless

You get the idea. When you reach out and DO something to help others, YOU get SO MUCH in return.!! Your heart is full. You have renewed energy. It makes you want to do MORE. And friends, God made us for the MORE. He made us to be His hands and feet. Live life to the fullest by resolving this year to be the one God made you to be. Be MORE. Happy New Year!

Richard Rohr

Richard Rohr is a Catholic priest that teaches some very healthy ideas. He seeks to end the divisions that we humans so seem to enjoy creating. I read his daily devotionals.... Here is one from last week that I thought was very good.

Growing and Waking Up
Thursday, January 4, 2018

In the beginning, in our original unwoundedness (“innocence”), we lived in an unconscious state of full connection with the divine, like Adam and Eve walking naked in the garden with God. But it didn’t take long for us to think of ourselves as separate, and from that position outside the garden, we grabbed for an autonomous identity. This is the “false self.” Many people live most of their lives under this delusion, and confuse this concocted persona as the real deal.

How do I get back to union and innocence? Objectively I have never left the state of union, but it feels like I have. We already and always have the divine image (imago Dei) within us; but we hopefully grow into the divine likeness (similitude) as we begin to externally resemble the goodness of God. It usually takes us a long time to rediscover what has been true all along as we gradually find our unique way of embodying Love. Finding God and finding our True Self—which is letting go of our false self—are finally the same thing.

It’s not about being privately correct; it’s about being fully connected. It’s not about fulfilling requirements; it’s about a trusting relationship. It’s not so much about what we do; it’s about what God does. God and life itself eventually destabilize the boundaries of the small self so we can awaken inside of the Large Self. This usually happens through experiences of great love, suffering, or the forms of prayer that allow the private ego to collapse back into the True Self, where we gratefully shout with Jacob, “You were here all the time, and I never knew it!” (Genesis 28:16).

Our life is a dance between the loneliness and desperation of the false self and the fullness of the True Self, which is re-discovered and experienced anew as an ultimate homecoming. The spiritual journey is a path of deeper realization and transformation; it is never a straight line, but a back and forth journey that ever deepens the conscious choice and assent to God’s work in us. It is growing up, yes, but even more it is waking up.

You can subscribe to his devotionals by clicking here.
Click here for Richard's daily devotionals

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

prayer

This is the prayer that we Methodists refer to as the John Wesley Covenant Prayer. Or in the hymnal it is #607 Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition.....

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

If we but live by this prayer, our Methodist churches would be much healthier.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

heart work

Kingdom work is heart work.  Not hard work, heart work.  The kingdom that Jesus introduced boils down to this:  Loving God and Loving Others.  You can have a more expansive mission or vision statement like....

You matter to God and Us
or
Connecting People to Jesus Christ
or
Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

But all such statements boil down to loving God and loving others.

Our mission is not adopting schools.  Our mission is not feeding the homeless.  Our mission is not in Cuba, Russia or Nicaragua.  Our mission is not toys for kids at Christmas.

Our mission is loving God and loving others.

We adopt schools, feed people and buy toys because we love God and love others.  Loving God and others is the cause, programs are the effect.

Many churches feed people and collect toys, but have not love.  Remember what Paul said about that in 1 Cor 13.  The mission is a heart thing first.  It is heart work. 

The nice thing about that idea as far as I am concerned is this.... if my mission is to give toys to kids, or care for orphans in Russia, then I live my life and do my thing as I see fit, interrupting my life to be in mission with toys and orphans.  But if my mission is loving God and loving others, it is all the time... 24 hours a day.  I am, we are, never off mission.  We no longer interrupt our lives to be in mission, our lives truly become a mission for God.

Kingdom work = heart work.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

Allen Z

"Some times the greater plan, is kinda hard to understand, right now it don't make sense"
                                                                  Luke Bryan

My friend Allen Zugelter passed away last Thursday night.  He was a delightful man, a wonderful father, husband and pastor.  He moved to the Liberty United Methodist Church from Texas in 2013.  We had a few years together before I moved to Florida.

We would meet at First Watch for breakfast.  He was easy to love and quickly made his way into your heart.  Allen was humble, gracious and kind.  The ministry was never about him.  He was always eager to learn and he loved his congregation and family very much.

I have to tell you that it hurts to lose someone so young.  He was a bright light in United Methodism and I know that God used his brief time here to enlighten the hearts of those who came to know him.

Dear Allen, I am glad to have had the chance to know you.  You were and you are loved.  You will be missed.  You will be grieved.

yesterday's sermon audio

Here is the link from yesterday's sermon audio....  It was a very difficult sermon for me to deliver....  we also had some audio problems.... anyway, here it is.

click here to listen to sermon from 1-7-17

Quote

“What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men and women whom the Holy Spirit can use…for the Holy Spirit does not flow through methods but through men. He does not come upon machinery but upon men and women. He does not anoint plans but men and women.

Natural ability and educational advantages do not figure as factors in this matter,but the capacity for faith, the ability to pray, the power of thorough consecration, the ability of self-littleness, and the absolute losing of one’s self in God’s glory and an ever-present and insatiable yearning and seeking after all the fullness of God.

Men and women who can set the church ablaze for God; not in a noisy showy way, but with an intense and quiet heat that melts and moves everything for God. God can work wonders if He can get suitable men and women.”

E.M. Bounds
Methodist Preacher 1835-1913

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

Blog Issues

Over the past month, several have reached out to say that they are no longer getting the blog automatically emailed to them by the web site.

I have tried to re-enter the email addresses but they show as already on the distribution list and it wont allow me to add them twice.

I have suggested that people check their spam folders..... anything that goes out in a mass email is subject to ending up in the spam.

The next thing that I am doing is creating an email list in my gmail account for those of you who are experiencing such problems.  I will simply fwd what comes to my daily account to each of you that are having trouble getting the blog emails.

Now here is the catch.... if you are having trouble getting the blog emails, you may not receive this one!

If you find the blog in your spam, add the sending address to your contacts list.

You can also go daily to the web page
www.canyouhearthebirdssing.blogspot.com

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

masterpiece or mess?

My friend Susan sent this in....

If you are anything like me, you have times where you feel pretty worthless. I am a people pleaser, and if I don't get affirmations, but instead get criticized by someone, I take that to heart. I recently heard on the radio that you can feel like a mess when you look in the mirror, or you can see that you are a masterpiece. You see, God didn't make a mess of you...He made a beautiful masterpiece! Another wise person told me that our self worth isn't determined by the thoughts and actions of others. It comes from deep inside where God, goodness, and the desire to make a difference resides. So, in a world that wants to hold us to an impossible standard of perfection, let's find something better: Grace.

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 in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours