Keep Breathing

Keep Breathing is a six part, short series on Netflix.  It is about a woman who is in a plane crash and then deals with the elements of the Alaskan wilderness.  Along the way, she also deals with the wilderness of her upbringing.

I could relate to it.  I wish that one of my parents would have told us that it wasn't our fault.  But that ship has sailed.

Sometimes in life, you have to let go of the past and just relax.  Just fall into the current and see where the water takes you.

If there is a current in life,  the good Lord knows it and watches it.  After all, he has the whole world in his hands.

Sometimes you have to let go of your desires and wishes.  Sometimes we need to just wade in and see where the current takes you.

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

Why does something always have to be wrong?

I continue to be annoyed by the negative "news" on the news.  In fact, I rarely watch it.  There is a lot of talk about "fake news."  Well, the news outlets that talk about fake news also provide fake news.  

Oh my gosh.  Flights have been cancelled.  Turns out it is less than 1% of flights in a given day.  And the next day, the news has moved on to some other tragedy.

Oh my gosh!  There is no baby formula.  The president must do something or he does not care about babies.  Hmmm.  What do mothers do in poor countries?  What did we do before the advent of baby formula?  Yes, there are other options.

When I was in Lincoln at that grocery store, I noticed a lady checking out.  Looks like she had some baby formula.  And look at the supply in the baby formula aisle.  Maybe the news should have told people to drive to Lincoln to get their formula.

Look at all the formula she is buying.  I wonder where she got it?  She must have bought the last cans.  Lucky girl!!!

Then I found the formula aisle.  OH, look!  Lincoln grocery store on 27th street has tons of baby formula.  Someone please tell channel 9.  They will be so relieved.  They can share the good news!

Anyway, the next day, it was a non issue.  Evidently supplies were back.

The news goes from one emergency to the next.  And I think it keeps a lot of people stressed out.  OMG there is a recession.  What will we do?  Hmmm.  What did we do in 1987?  In 2001?  In 2008?  I think we will survive.

What if the news focused on what was good and what was right?  What if the news showed random acts of kindness?  Maybe instead of filling people's brains with worry, they would inspire other acts of generosity.

Anyway, don't get sucked into the worry pit.  If you want to worry, there is always something to worry about.  Instead, be a part of the solution.  Be a part of the good story.  Create a good story.  Be the good story.  Change the world.  Change your attitude and let it flow out to others.

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

Paying Attention

So I am driving my shopping cart through the grocery store on N. 27th St. in Lincoln, Nebraska.  I have never been in this store before.  It is kind of a warehouse store and the shelves are really tall.  I am looking for the signs to direct me to the proper aisle.

Suddenly... plop!!!  My cart is in a hole!  There is a bang and a crash and I look at the front of my cart.  I have driven it into a hole.  

Yes.  Right here in the store, marked off with orange cones is a nice hole to trap shoppers.  Actually it will only trap shoppers who are not paying attention.

I was able to pull my cart out and go on.

But... how many of us go through life without paying attention.  We cannot find our keys because we were not paying attention to where we set them down.  We lose touch with a friend because we forgot about them.  We miss joy and meaning and hope because we are not focused on seeing the good.

There are many pitfalls in this life.  Most of them are not marked out with cones.  You have to pay attention to avoid them.  And you have to pay attention to see the good.

May we all pay a little more attention.

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

turn it around

Murphy's Law - if anything can go wrong, it probably will.

And that is how many of us live.  Constantly waiting for something to go wrong.  Always worried about what "might" be.

What if we turn it around.  If anything can go well, it will.  This little sticker lays upon my desk.  I wish I could get it stuck in my head a little more.

It almost seems counter intuitive to think that things could go well, but they can, and for most of us, they have.  Most of us have had more good than bad happen in this life.

What are you thinking about today?  What are you expecting?  Bad or good?

If anything can go well, it will.

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

brains filled with

What are our brains filled with?  This is a painful picture, but it illustrates what we do with our brains.

Too many Christians strive to have their brains filled with ideas.  We say, Let's listen to this great teacher and lets learn all of the facts from the Bible study.

Ideas, ideas, IDEAS.

What if life is not about filling our brain with lots of ideas?  What if the Christian faith is not about filling our head with more ideas?  How will the second coming happen?  How many angels can fit on the head of a pin?  How was Jesus both God and man?  Who cares?  Spend your life worrying about stuff is like wasting your life.

A person can waste their entire life lost in thoughts that we do not, and will not know the answer to.  Christianity has created a culture full of people who want to know everything, but have lost the true purpose of life.

Our brains should be filled with one idea.  Love.  Especially if you are a Christian, our brains should only focus on love.  Stop wasting time and energy and get to the real business of God:  love your neighbor.

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

Don't mess with my brain

I have always loved this photo/meme.  It is such a perfect illustration of how our brains work.  

I think what I think. Don't mess with what I think.
I know that I am right. If I was wrong, I would change my thinking.
I don't even have time to consider the craziness that you are suggesting.
Leave my brain alone.

And yet, healthy growth, enlightenment only comes to those who are willing to let their brain be stirred.

What ideas do you or I need to let go of?  The light only appears when we are willing to shed the darkness.

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

The end of grace

The end of grace.

Oh, just the title of this post makes me feel uncomfortable.

An end to grace?  NO!!! How can that be?  If you are like me, I believe that God's grace is immense and that it never ends.  His mercies are new every morning, so says Lamentations 3

Yet we have been taught, and maybe have taught ourselves, that there is an end to grace.  That we live this life and can find grace in this life, but the moment that we die, grace is over.  Grace is over when we die and we are judged based on what we did in this life.

So grace and mercy ends?  What does that say about God?  Grace and mercy is real but temporary?  That sounds like a shallow love to me.

Yes, this messes with part of my brain that was taught and preached that we would be judged when we die.  But friends, either God's grace is new every morning, or it is not.  We have to choose which scriptures to believe.

For me, after spending a childhood being manipulated and guilted, I am ready to believe in a God that actually loves us.  Now and forever.  Grace does not end.  And if that messes with your brain and your theology, so be it.

Learn to be loved.  It is not too late.

It's a beautiful, grace filled day [even for those who die today] it's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

waiting

A few weeks ago I was waiting in line to turn in a rental car.  There was only one guy there to check your mileage and he was slow.  Really slow.  And I was in a hurry.

Did you ever notice that when we are in a hurry, other people seem slower?

Anyway, if you have ever looked at a struggling person and thought, "they should get a job" this guy did.  He was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and he loved to talk.  Evidently, he needed to talk to people.

It seemed forever that he took with the first car.  By the time he was done with the second, Methuselah had died.  By the time he finally got to me, if had I been a Buddhist, I would have been on my 4th life.

Finally it occurred to me... he is not going to go any faster or slower based on my angst.  Who by worrying can add an inch to their height?  Who by worrying can add a moment to their life?  These thoughts comforted me and I finally relaxed.

The next time that you are in line behind someone that is slow or will not turn left, just remember... they are not going to turn until they choose to turn.  Maybe their eyesight is bad.  Maybe they are not a confident driver.  But no matter the reason, they are not going to turn, until they choose to do so.

My angst about them moving faster is not going to do anything except upset me.  It is time to let that stuff go.  It is time to relax.  

I got my rental car turned in.
I finally turned left.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, don't worry about anything and be sure to see the good.

and if you wondered who Methuselah is- click this link

the pain of the past

This little sign sits in my den.  I am not sure
but I think that one of my sisters gave it to me
after that peculiarly difficult thing happened.

We all have collected wounds and scars over the years.  The wise ones find a way to rise above them.  Many of us spend the rest of our lives wallowing in our hurt and/or being resentful to those who participated in delivering the pain to us.

What if there were no mistakes in life, just lessons.  What if the way that person treated me was more about them, than me?  What if I was just wrong and can admit it, and move on?  What if I come to truly believe that there is a lesson in every rainbow and every pothole?

If I can focus on the lesson, I can move on into the gift of this day.

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

letting go

My friend Susan sent in this quote from Joseph Campbell.  It reminds me of the concept that in order to grow, we need to let go of some things.  The idea that spirituality is not collecting more ideas, or supposed "truths," but releasing ourselves from some of what we have collected over the years so that we can finally relax and enjoy life.

"We must be willing to let go of the life that we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
                                       Joseph Campbell, American writer.

Unless we let go, we cannot discover.  Until we let go, we are locked in our own sphere, demanding that world align itself to make us happy.  

But when we do let go, we can finally understand that-  it's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

You are welcome here

I saw this sign in the yard of a United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Now, imagine church row in a typical town.  8 churches of various flavors in a line down Church Street.  Imagine that 7 of the 8 have this sign in the yard.  One of the 8 does not.  I wonder how they would feel?

Maybe they would finally get it.  Maybe they would think, "We are the ones that don't welcome everyone.  We are the ones that judge.  We are the ones that think we know better.  Our bible does not approve of this kind or that kind."

Where do you want to go to church?

I want God to offer grace to me and accept me, warts and all.
I want God to offer grace to everyone and accept everyone. Warts and all.
I want to do the same.

You are welcome here.

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

You can learn something from everyone

From some you learn the ways to do it right.  Follow them.

From others, you learn the ways to do it wrong.  Don't follow that.

The lovely truth of this is that you can hold to what is good, and choose to do different from those who taught the wrong ways.

I am frugal because my parents were.  I am relational because my parents were not.  You can hold to the good that you learn from someone and release the bad.  You don't have to be exactly like anyone.  

This should comfort imperfect parents who worry that they set a bad example in some ways.  Your children have the right and the brains to hold fast to what is good and to release what is not helpful.

Richard Rohr likes to say, "The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better."

Don't get lost in bad things that you were taught. Release yourself from them to find and live a better way.

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

acting or reacting

By the way, Happy Birthday to my mother, Mary Brinkman, who would have been 87 had she lived this long. Sadly, she passed at 62.

Acting and Reacting.

In a given situation, am I going to react or act?

Reacting is what we do when we respond to stimuli without thinking. We just do what comes naturally. Someone cuts us off in traffic and we retaliate. Someone says something hurtful to us and we hurt them back. That is reacting. It's human, but it is rarely the best course.

Acting is different. To understand that you can act instead of reacting is a big surprise to some people.  But when you think about it, choosing to act is a very powerful choice.  We don't have to react to everything. You have another choice. Stop yourself, take a step back, take a deep breath. Ask yourself who you are. Ask yourself what you are about. Say a prayer. Breath in the Holy Spirit. Consider your options and choose the healthiest course. Then act. Act out of the best of who you are.

Things always go better when we act instead of react. 

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

What is this blog

I want to take a moment to remind readers what this blog is about.

Sometimes people read some of what I write and wonder if I am ok. I think that people sometimes put expectations on a thing that are not realistic.

In the early days of this blog, you could not get it delivered by email.  [OH, what ancient technology!!!]  You had to actually go to the web site www.canyouhearthebirdssing.blogspot.com to read Jeff's daily ramblings.

If you go to that web site-

click here to go to that web site

If you go to that web site- you will notice that on the right margin, written in purple, is a section entitled, "what is this blog." This is what it says:

This blog is the occasional ramblings of Jeff Brinkman, a semi-retired United Methodist Pastor. When Jeff cannot post, some of his buds take over. This blog may or may not inspire, may or may not be humorous, but will always be honest. This blog is Jeff's attempt to remind himself and others that God is greater than anything, and if we just look hard enough, we can see the good in life, and if we slow down and listen, we can hear the birds sing. Contact Jeff directly at Jsbrink57@gmail.com

So I encourage readers to understand that I cannot always write. There will be guest posts and thoughts from others. The blog may or may not inspire. It may or may not be humorous. But it will always be honest.

And I think that this is what a real life is about. No pretending.  No pretense.  Put it out there. Let people share your struggles. Keep being real, keep showing kindness, keep finding the joy, inspite of whatever may be happening in your world...

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

Partnering with the world

Yesterday I discovered a phrase, "partnering with the world."  I think that there are many of us that would fight that phrase because as Christians, we were taught that the world was bad.  Over the years I have come to reject the idea that the world is bad.  I instead, have come to believe that this is our Father's world. 

Consequently, once we realize that we are not in charge, we can learn to "make friends" with the difficulty.  Whether it is a bad knee or a bad relationship, we can go on in life with joy, even though the world is not aligning itself to make me happy.

I have a friend who has an enormous heart and is an enormous soul.  This person was once upset because they had to go in for a surgery.  Now, no surgery if fun, but I suggested to this person that they find their bigger self.  That they could and would overcome this obstacle [and they did.]  I suggested that this was a chance for them to go in and bless the person at the admitting desk.  To bless the people in the operating room.  To bless the people that took care of them afterwards.  My friend was able to do this.  Big souls see hurts for what they are and set them aside for the larger good. 

Joy is bigger than the circumstances at hand.  Release yourself from the specifics and see the bigger picture.

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

A Teachable Moment

The next time you are offended, consider it a “teachable moment.” Ask yourself what part of you is actually upset. It’s normally the false or smaller self. If we can move back to the big picture of who we are in God, our True Self, we’ll find that what upset us usually doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in objective reality! But we can waste a whole day (or longer) feeding that hurt until it seems to have a life of its own and, in fact, “possesses” us.            Richard Rohr

To me, part of the trick is to stop myself when I am feeling something.  It may be disappointment, it may be anger, it may be a number of things.  I feel it.  I FEEL IT.  It seems so big... then a day later, I don't even remember what I was upset about.  I had allowed my small self to take over, possess, and overwhelm, my life.

Being aware of the problem is the first step.  Being able to recognize, in the middle of the feelings, that the feelings are not to be allowed to dominate is a first step.

The next step is to take a deep breath and refocus.  Put on your favorite music.  Go for a walk.  Distract yourself from the feelings.  They will change, they always do.

Somewhere along the line we can find a teachable moment.  We can look at what is bothering us and begin to realize that we are not in charge of that thing.  We don't get a vote.  The world is not going to align itself to make me happy.  We can learn to partner with the world instead of fighting it.

And when I realize that the world is not here for my pleasure, I smile, I release the offense, and I move on to the day, a healthy, beautiful day.

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

look, just there

One of my former seminary professors, Bob Tuttle, lives in Vero Beach.  We have breakfast about once a month or so.

A few weeks ago, I went to pick him up.  I was standing in his living room, waiting for him to get ready.  I was looking out the living room window.  He has a lovely view of the intercoastal.

I noticed a man in a rowboat.  WOW!!!  I loved it.  Look, just there, a man in a rowboat.  My brain went from waiting for Bob to being enthralled with this moment.

What was the man feeling?  How lovely the weather must feel out on the water this morning.  The ocean breeze.  How nice it is to feel the muscles in my arms pulling on the oars.  Oh, the sea birds!  Oh, the splash of water!!!

Look, just there.  Look, just there, there is something beautiful, something amazing.  Let your day be interrupted with the beautiful.  It is all around us if we open our eyes.

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

a shorter list

I mentioned in my post on my birthday, July 5th, that my list of beliefs has gotten shorter over the years.

A couple of people wrote in and asked me to elaborate.

Ok, so here goes:

I don't think God cares what we believe about:

• the trinity
• the end of time
• the gifts of the Holy Spirit
• who is in and who is out
• tattoos and piercings
• loud music
• sin
• how the death of Jesus specifically covers sin
• other religions

on and on it goes.  I just don't think that God cares.  So much of what we have spent our lives fighting about, and trying to be right about, I just don't think that those ideas matter.

What does matter is love.

You can say you are a Christian, but if you don't love, what are you?

You can say that you believe in Jesus just right, but if you don't love, what are you?

You can say that you are saved, but if you don't have compassion for the broken, isn't it time for a conversion?

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels but have not love, I am nothing.  God is love.  Christianity in it's simplest form boils down to that.  Do I love.  Am I seeking to grow in love.  Am I leaving a legacy of love.

My list of beliefs has gotten shorter.

Love is all there is.  In the end, love is all that matters.  Oh, wait... in the beginning, love was all that mattered.  Sad it takes us a lifetime to figure that out.

Love, just love.

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

Where did it go?

A long long time ago,
in a galaxy far far away.

You wake up one day and realize that much of your life has flown by.  Where did it go?  Who was I 10 years ago?  20?  30?  How can I grasp what used to be?

And then I realize, in many ways, I was the same then as I am now.  I watched TV shows that I enjoyed.  I loved my family.  I loved to work.  I loved to fix things.  I loved a good sunset, the waves on the beach, the redwood trees.  I loved bicycles and cars.  Im not really that different than I used to be.

But if there is a difference, I think I could say that I am now paying more attention than I used to.  I am paying more attention to others.  I say thank you more. I look people in the eye more.  I try to leave each human encounter a little better.  I don't always succeed at this, but I am aware of it and I want to leave a residue of grace wherever I go.

As Mel Gibson's wife said in the movie Signs, "you have to see."  Well, we don't have to see, but I hope that as we grow older, we will make the conscious choice to see.  To see every landscape, every person, every moment, every thought.  Every breath.  They are all life's miracles.

Where did it go?  It is still here.  May I, may we pay more attention to it than we used to.

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

There is a third way

Seriously Edited From Father Richard Rohr...

There seem to be two typical ways to avoid conversion or meaningful change, two diversionary tactics that we use to avoid having pain: fight and flight.

“Fight” is what I’ll call the way of Simon the Zealot. It describes people who want to change, fix, control, and reform other people and events. The zealot always looks for the political sinner, the unjust one, the oppressor, the bad person over there. Zealots consider themselves righteous when attacking them (whoever they are at a given time), hating them, even killing them. When they do, they believe they are “doing a holy duty for God” (John 16:2).

Zealots often have good conclusions, but their tactics and motives can be filled with ego, power, control, and the same righteousness they hate in others. 

As long as they [others] are the problem (whoever they are), and we keep our focus on changing them and correcting them, then we can sit in a reasonably comfortable position. But it is a false peace of avoidance, denial, and projection. 

This brings us to flight, the second diversionary tactic. This is the common path of the “Pharisee,”  Such people deny pain altogether and refuse to carry the shadow side of anything in themselves or in their chosen groups.  They refuse to see their own brokenness, and project their own wounded side somewhere else!  They are perfect, they are righteous.  Be like them and there will be no problems. It is a form of narcotic, and at times probably necessary to get some people through the day.

Both fight and flight people are subject to hypocrisy, projection, or just plain illusion: “We are right; you are wrong. The world is divided into black and white, and we alone know who is good and who is bad.”

But there is a third way...

“Resurrected” people are the ones who have found a better way by prayerfully bearing witness against injustice and evil— and working to fill the world with good.  Imagine the energy that we would have to love others, if we stopped putting energy into judgment.  Imagine moving past self protection and just bringing a loving self [you] to every person, every encounter, every time.

There is a third way to live.

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