Joy To the World

 Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let Earth receive her King;  Let every heart prepare Him room,  And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

 This is the first verse of a well-known Christmas hymn, Joy To the World.  The song is one of the most published hymns in the modern day, and is well-known by multitudes.  Written in the early 1700’s by Isaac Watts, the song is thought to be taken from Psalm 98 and Genesis chapter 3.

There have been several tunes matched with the lyrics; however, the modern tune is one written by Lowell Mason in the mid 1800’s, and is widely thought to be patterned at least in part by excerpts from Handel’s Messiah.  The first four notes in the present tune are identical to the notes in the movement “Glory to God” in The Messiah.  The key, D major, is also the same.  Other parts of the tune are sometimes attributed to various other parts of the oratorio.  Mason himself gave credit to Handel for parts of the modern tune.

Many have thought that rather than a song to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the song is instead a celebration of the second coming of Christ as the victorious king.  Many Christians can appreciate the lyrics of the song as applying to either the birth of Christ or his second coming.  Watts himself seems to attribute the lyrics to Psalm 98, which he describes as follows:  Psalms 96-98 refer to "Christ's Incarnation, his setting up his Gospel-Kingdom to judge or rule the Gentiles, and the Judgment and Destruction of the Heathen Idols"

Regardless of your own interpretation of the words, the song is one that raises the spirit and provides hope during a season of the year when for many, life is anything but pleasant and joyful.  It promises to be a part of the holiday season repertoire for many decades to come.

There are four verses all together in the song.  I’ll close with the reciting of the other three.

 Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;  Let men their songs employ;  While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains  Repeat the sounding joy,  Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

 No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground;  He comes to make His blessings flow  Far as the curse is found,  Far as, far as, the curse is found.

 He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.

The "In-Between" Time

 Good morning:

 This time of the year is what I think of as the “in between” time…the days between two major holidays…Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This is the time when much of the world, and especially Western cultures, bring the brightly colored ornaments and decorations out of the closet, string up lights of all kinds, decorate evergreen trees in their homes, and max out their credit cards on gifts for others.  It’s a festive time of the year, especially since the days are getting progressively shorter in daylight length, it’s getting colder, nature is brown rather than green, and we’re stuck inside much of the time.

For some, it’s also a time to recall and remember the birth of a baby boy some two thousand years ago who has, in the intervening centuries created incredible changes, for the better I would argue, in societies and nations through his teachings and example.  He has commanded untold millions of followers and disciples over the centuries, and his overall influence has not diminished over the years.

And then there’s the coming of the new year just a week after Christmas.  We collectively seek to “wipe the slate clean,” so to speak, and start anew.  The old joke about new year’s resolutions and their short lifespan in the new year is just as pertinent now as it has been for untold decades.  We try.  We really try to lose weight, stop a bad habit, be more thoughtful and generous, or any of a thousand other things that plage the human race.  And sometimes we really succeed.  But most of the time those good intentions go by the wayside somewhere around January 25^th.

There are some things, however, that cannot be covered over with bright lights, tinsel, snow, holiday music, or gifts under the tree.  Oh, they can temporarily disappear, but just like the snows that come and cover over everything in a white, glistening coat, eventually those snows melt and the brown that is underneath again comes into full view.

We all have to deal with the “browns” in our lives from time to time.  Illness and chronic health issues, financial difficulties, family problems, relationship issues, and a host of other ills and ailments are constantly attacking us, trying to get the best of us.  Sometimes the best we can do is to shove these things off to the side temporarily while we deal with more pressing things.  But sometimes these issues come front and center in our lives and demand immediate attention.  The snow has melted.  We see these things that were buried underneath now before us.  And they won’t go away on their own.  They may not ever go away, but can only be managed for a time.

I don’t mean to put a Grinch-like damper on the holiday season for you.  What I do intend to do is to possibly point you in a direction that ‘s different than the one you’re currently taking.  I said earlier that for some of us, this time of the year is a time to recall and remember the birth of a baby boy some two thousand years ago.  That baby boy, when grown, claimed to be, and I believe was indeed God in the flesh.  God incarnate.  God “pitching his tent,” so to speak, among us, as John says in the first few verses of his account of the life of Jesus.

Specifically, John says this about the man Jesus. 

In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.  The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.  He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.  But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.  They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Jesus won’t take away the brown things.  But he will enable you to persevere as you walk with him through them. Paul the great Apostle tells the Corinthians that what we endure now is but a “light and momentary” thing.  Here’s specifically what he says:  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

May God bless as you continue on in this season of thanksgiving and renewal.

Thanksgiving Eve

 Today is Thanksgiving Eve.  That sounds a bit strange, as we normally think of an “eve” day as being Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve.  Thanksgiving…the holiday…seems to sometimes get lost in the general noise of life as we gear up, so to speak, for the “big” holiday of Christmas.  According to an AI search of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the holiday was officially proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 as a way to promote unity in a war-torn nation.

In a real way, the nation today is also in disarray…torn between right and left, conservative and liberal, religious and secular.  I have to wonder if the Thanksgiving holiday, properly observed, could help facilitate our coming together, if even for just a day, to celebrate unity…unity of purpose…unity of spirit…unity of brotherhood.

I don’t know what you will be doing in a special way…if anything…tomorrow.  Some of us are working.  Our jobs are a 24-7 thing, and we are on one of the shifts for tomorrow.  Some of us are traveling, whether by air, auto, or other means.  Or maybe we’re staying home cooking a special meal for our family or guests.

But some of us will be doing none of that.  Some will be on the street, in a shelter, in a hospital, a jail, or some other place we’d rather not be.  For those of us who will be in a warm home filled with the aroma of turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, and baked bread, it might do us good to at least think of some of the others who, for whatever reason, cannot be in a place like the one we are in.  And maybe we need to count our blessings instead of our challenges.

Last week, the wife and I took a short time off to go into western Kansas…a place we both are very familiar with.  We decided to get away, but to do so to a place we already knew…roads we had already traveled…towns and cities we already knew how to navigate.  We visited with people we’ve known for many years.  We ate at places we’ve known for decades.  We traveled roads and passed through towns…places where we had gone many times before in the past half century.  We stopped at tourist sites we already knew, with one or two new ones sprinkled in.

During those few days, I was thinking about times past and gone…people and places I had known…things I had done in those places…and just how much I have enjoyed my time alive on this ball of dirt.  Yes, there were challenges.  Yes, there were times I’d rather forget.  Yes, there were people in my life I’d rather not have had there.  But my life has been one of blessing, adventure, and protection.

Blessing in all that I’ve been able to see and experience that was good, right, and lovely.  Adventure in getting to see and do things that few others have experienced…my life has been rich and full.  Protection in guardian angels appearing at just the right time to save me from some catastrophe…usually of my own making.

Thanksgiving…yes…absolutely yes.  Thanksgiving just for tomorrow.  No.  Positively no.  Thankfulness daily is (or should be) the order of the day…this and every day.  Blessing, Adventure, Protection.

Maybe you have a different way of looking at life which brings you to a thankful attitude.  Whatever that way is, exercise it today, tomorrow, and every day.

And, maybe you find it difficult or impossible to be thankful.  Perhaps you’re struggling physically, mentally, or emotionally.  I don’t know what you may be going through right now, but know that help is available.

May God bless you as you walk through this time in your life.

Let Someone Know You Care

 Sometimes, in the course of living in Wichita and my work as a minister, I have occasion to hear, primarily through social media, of someone from my past who has been hospitalized in one of the Wichita hospitals.  It could be a classmate.  It could be someone who was in school the same time as I was, but a different grade.

When I hear of someone in the hospital that I know, I don't always make the trip to see them.  Sometimes, I hear about their hospitalization too late to go, as they've already been dismissed.  Sometimes, the relationship I had with that person was not one conducive to allow such a visit.  Sometimes, we barely knew each other, and it just didn't seem to be the thing to do to go for a visit.  But sometimes everything seems right, and I go for a short visit just to let them know that I know and care.

The visits are indeed often short.  Our lives long ago went in separate directions.  I have only attended a couple of our class or all-school reunions over the past almost 60 years.  I didn't have that many good friends in high school.  I wasn't a social butterfly.  And several of those friends I did have are no longer with us.  The last of the two or so reunions I attended was in 2017...our 50^th.  I don't plan on ever attending another reunion.

Sometimes I'll meet that person's family who may be there.  These would be people I don't know at all.  Those family members and I usually have a good conversation about what's going on with my friend...at least enough that I have some idea of the situation at hand.  They seem willing and at times even eager to talk about the situation.  So, sometimes I just do a lot of listening.

And, it seems that these incidents are becoming somewhat more frequent.  Of course, that would be expected, since most of us are well into our 70's, with the accompanying aches, pains, and illnesses that often attack.  I count it a privilege, though, to be able to make the visit and if even just briefly, for a moment re-establish the relationship.  And hopefully, my visit does something in a small way to provide some kind of relief and comfort.

There is one thing, though, that always seems to befuddle me when I encounter these situations.  I'm usually always calling up out of the dark recesses of my head memories of long ago.  Many times, those memories are videos complete with sound.  They are usually just snippets a few seconds long, but they're there as surely as I'm here.

I have to marvel at what I am experiencing.  How is it that somewhere in that gray mass of cells called the brain, these videos or still images are stored...kept...and recalled...sometimes 60 or more years after the event happened?  What kind of retrieval system does the brain have for these thoughts?  How does that work?  Why are some things stored permanently and others are soon forgotten?  Is my whole life somehow stashed away in there, but I can only recall certain aspects of it?  How are the physical brain cells changed when a thought...an image...a sound...is stored away?  Is there a limit to the information the brain can hold?  If so, what does it do when it reaches that limit?

I know that the people who study the brain may have some answers...or think they may have some answers to these questions.  But even so, what happens in that mass of cells in my head remains a mystery in so many ways.  I have to wonder just how it is that someone can reasonably conclude that such a marvelous piece of biology could have been put into existence by chance and happenstance.  I won't go into that in detail in this post...I'll leave that for another time, because the primary point in this thought is this:  If you hear of someone you know who is having some kind of health issue that necessitates that person being hospitalized, and if you think it might be good to make a short visit, by all means do so.  I know hospitals are places where a lot of people don't want to go, even when they're well.  I know it sometimes hurts to see someone else in discomfort or ill health.  I know it may take some time out of your day...you'll have to park in a far-away spot and navigate your way to the right room on the right floor.  And it might be difficult to find the words when you do see that person or that person's family.

But, put aside your own uncomfortable-ness and think of the one who is hospitalized.  Think about whether you would like someone to visit you should you be the one in that hospital bed.  Make that visit...even if for only five minutes.  You have no idea just how important it may be to your friend and his or her family for you to say that you care.

What a Concept !!

 As you all probably know by now, the United States government is “shut down,” to use the words of various media sources.  What that practically means is that many aspects of government have no authority in law to spend money, and so must curtail services until such authority is given.

There are some services that can, under law, continue to spend money, and there are other services which can keep their employees working, but their pay is delayed until the issue is fixed by the Congress and the President.

It's a complicated thing, this shut down business.  On the one hand, the very people who can fix the issue, but don’t, receive their regular pay and benefits.  On the other hand, those on the receiving end of the shut-down have to continue working as “essential workers” for no compensation until the law is changed.

And then there are those who rely on government services who suddenly are without.  The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is one such service.  Suddenly, tens of millions of people are without one of their basic means of survival.

Yes, I am well aware of the pro’s and the con’s regarding the SNAP program.  I know there are some who think it is a waste of resources and a huge mess of corruption.  There are others who believe the program is the savior of the world, so to speak, at least regarding food assistance, and want to expand it to many more.

I’m not here to argue any of the ideological points.  The truth is there are people who legitimately need assistance with basic necessities such as food.  That need may be filled by government, by non-profit orgs, by faith communities, or by individuals.  My guess is that if private orgs and individuals would be able and willing to fill the need, there would be no need for a SNAP program on a government level.  But that’s a topic for another day.

What I AM here to say is that I am seeing people step up to the need.  I am seeing people donate what they can afford to give.  I see every kind of donation from a can of green beans to a several thousand dollar check.  People are volunteering to work food pantries.  People are helping load and transport case lots of food.  People are spreading the news regarding the location and hours of the food pantries in the area.  People are delivering food to folks who can’t go to the pantry for whatever reason.  It’s heartening to see.

And I’m also seeing something I think is more important than donations of food or money.  I’m seeing people opening their minds to the truth that there is hunger and need in their neighborhoods.  I’m also seeing people open their hearts to the plight and circumstances of others.

Open minds and open hearts.  What a concept!  What a thought!  Could it be that this government-made situation be an instrument to help us open our minds and hearts to better enable us to love God and love our neighbor?

Paul Purdue, a minister with the United Methodist Church, wrote in a recent blog regarding open hearts and open minds.  I’ve slightly edited a part of it for this Thursday Thought.  Here’s what he said:

Sadly, much of what passes for Christianity in America today is closed minded, cultural bound, and increasingly hard hearted.  Such a faith rides up like an ill fitting jacket binding us up with do’s, don’t, oughts and shoulds.  This kind of Christian thought shuts down our minds, pinches off our compassion, and limits our capacity to love God and neighbor.

We substitute a list of norms, beliefs, and behaviors for a relationship with God…the God who told Abraham to immigrate, made Sarah laugh, empowered Moses to challenge Pharaoh, emboldened Esther, entrusted Mary with the fullness of God’s very self, went fishing with Peter, taught us to love, flipped over tables, suffered humiliation on the cross, rose from the dead, breathed the Holy Spirit on the disciples, changed Paul’s heart, and still speaks today.  Could it be that maybe…just maybe…an open heart and open mind are essential to faith?

This is Jay again.  I’ll just leave you to answer that last question yourself.  What do you think?

Meanwhile, if you’re at all able to help provide food, warmth, shelter, infant and baby needs, transportation, or any other need, please step up during this upcoming holiday season, and throughout the year.

Open minds and open hearts.  What a concept!  What a thought!

Just Be

 “Just give grace.  People are exhausted by life right now.”

That quote which I found on social media hit me hard.  I shared it on my time line and said, “I’m feeling this,” with the share.  I’ve had numerous of my friends like and some have commented.

So, what is it with “life right now” that drives people to exhaustion?  Surely, we’ve never had it so good…whiz-bang technology, instant communications, great medical advances over the years, the wealthiest nation on earth…on and on we could go.  Yet life for many seems to be less than good…less than enjoyable…less than contented.  What is it that’s making life so difficult right now?

I’m old enough to recall the worst of the cold war age when we as kids had to practice “duck & cover” in school.  Somehow, the radiation from the atomic bomb wouldn’t hurt us if we only covered our heads and hid  under our desks.  I recall the advent of the polio vaccine and what that disease had done to countless people over the centuries…now being tamed.

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis and the fact that we were on the brink of thermonuclear war…except for the fact that JFK used the military in a diplomatic sense as much as a show of might and power…and the Soviet Union capitulated and withdrew its missiles from Cuba upon assurances from us regarding other nuclear weapons in Europe.

I remember the assassinations of John Kennedy, his brother Robert, and Martin Luther King, and the attempt on Gerald Ford.  I recall the demonstrations against the VietNam war that sometimes turned violent and people were killed.  The draft evaders who fled to Canada, the VietNam veterans who returned home to anger and frustration, Watergate, the stag-flation of the late 1970’s when interest rates were over 20% on the best mortgages.

Yet it seems that with all that history…and I could go back into the Korean conflict, World War II, and other notable points in history…today it seems that we’re totally exhausted from all of the stress, pain, and worry.

Could it be that our technology, instant everything, wealth, and status has been a double-edged sword?  Yes, those things of themselves are wonderful blessings.  But they also have the capability to isolate us from one-another…break up relationships…create grief and sorrow…and make loneliness a common malady in today’s culture.

Families don’t look like families looked some decades ago.  The basic unit of society…the family unit…is largely fractured, splintered, and grossly dysfunctional.  The “traditional” intact nuclear, functional family unit of an loving father and mother along with kids is in the minority now.  The actual numbers vary depending on who one checks, but the general consensus is that less than 1 in 4 family units are of the traditional variety.

Could there be a correlation?  I’m not smart enough to know the answer to that.  Could there be other issues?  Of course.  But I have to go back to the traditional nuclear family unit…that is functional…not dysfunctional…and say that it sure looks a lot like there’s something there that may be causing the general exhaustion that so many experience.

Other factors?  Yes.  The work culture.  The necessity for both parents to work rather than one stay home.  The political turmoil that is rife on all levels…international, national, state, and local.  Instant news that brings us the latest information on a mass shooting, terrorist attack, or weather disaster.  Our penchant for isolating ourselves in our phones or computers…and in so doing block out the rest of life and living.  Ideological extremes and unwillingness to communicate with one-another on an adult, compassionate, and intelligent level.

Of course, there certainly are other factors at work as well as these.  But I think you get the idea.  There IS a temptation, even though we know it just makes the stress and strain continue on in our lives…to keep on indulging in these.  It’s a sort of addiction.  We have to know the latest news from Capitol Hill.  We must keep abreast of what our friends are doing on social media.  We have to work so we can afford the eight dollar coffee, the fifty dollar dinner, and the sixty thousand dollar pickup trucks.

It just never seems to end.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

“The Lord is in His holy temple.  Let all the earth keep silence before him.”

“Stand still and consider the wonders of God.”

Maybe we need to back off, take a deep breath, and just “BE” for awhile…just “BE” with the God of the universe.

Maybe, just maybe, our state of exhaustion will see some relief.

 

Blessings.

 

Potpourri (Again)

 Good afternoon.

 Today may well be a potpourri of thoughts and things rattling around in my head.  I don’t do this often on this venue, but sometimes it just seems like I need to get some of this stuff out of my head and out on the table, so here goes.

Over the past three years, we’ve had three different trash services (or was it four services) at our house.  This company bought out that company, which in turn was absorbed into a larger company, and so on.

I had paid for a year in advance with the company which was absorbed by the larger one now serving us.  That year in advance ends November 1.  So far, the larger company has honored that advance payment.  However, I am not interested in establishing or continuing a relationship with software or an 800 number.

Phone calls to the company involve wait times of over an hour.  Prices have increased.  The ability to speak to a live person, either in person or on the phone, has diminished considerably.  Furthermore, I do not wish to continue a relationship that was established without my knowledge or consent.

But, I have a question.  Do I need to contact them to tell them I no longer want their service?  Or will they automatically discontinue service on November 1?  Will they continue service automatically and bill me for it?  Who knows…I certainly don’t.

I do know the new trash service will pick up where I desire the other one to leave off.  I can speak to a live person at that service after just the second ring of the phone.  She knows who I am.  She has the information I need.  I know we will have trash service after November 1.  As for the conglomerate…well, I’m an old guy and just like to do business in a little more personal manner than what is being offered.

By the way, English Rentals & Trash Service out of Newton, Kansas is our new waste removal company beginning November 1.  Stay tuned.  This might prove to be interesting.

It was only earlier this year that I became aware of a place in Hazelton, Kansas…look that up in your Rand McNally atlas…the Freedom Gates Boys Ranch.  Freedom Gates is a fully privately funded working ranch for troubled boys ages 11 to 18.  They receive no finances from any government agency.  Nor do they charge families a set fee.  They are totally reliant on donations.  They serve boys and their families…and they do it well and without fanfare.

The program is faith based.  School is private on the premises.  They are licensed by the state regarding housing standards, safety and fire standards.  But they are free to develop their own program, their own curriculum, and their own way of doing things.

Boys actively work the ranch.  They have cattle, horses, gardens, field crops, and all the rest that goes with ranches and ranching.  The boys actively work those areas as their age allows.  They learn skills such as welding, construction, fence building, working livestock, electrician, plumber and other trades work.

They learn to work with and support each other.  They develop not only work skills, but life skills that will remain with them long after they depart the ranch.

In addition, they receive appropriate therapy along with their families with the goal of eventual re-integration.  If that is not a possibility, that young man may stay at the ranch until he reaches adulthood, and may even stay at the ranch longer than that, helping the younger boys, mentoring, and teaching.  Quite the place for such a small community as Hazelton, Kansas.  Check it out.

The next days and weeks may well be “interesting” insofar as how the various state and local governments navigate the uncertainty of the federal government shutdown.  Of course, we're hearing the extremes of both sides of this debacle.  One side is saying that people will go hungry and without health care.  The other side is saying we can’t afford to continue down the debt spiral, and even now may be beyond a point of no return.

On a local level…on a neighbor to neighbor level, how do we as a church family react?  Furthermore, how do we proactively plan for a possible increase in hungry children and families coming to our food pantry?  How do we navigate helping our neighbors get through the week or even the day?  What about our members who are affected?  Will they tell us of their need?  And if they do, how do we respond appropriately?

Depending on the length of the shutdown, we may see some Social Security checks not come through.  We may see some Medicare payments not being made.  We already are seeing SNAP and WIC benefits being cut.  Are we as a society…and more particularly, are we as a church preparing for something that may directly affect us in some basic-need way?  It’s a question we need to ask, and begin to formulate a response.

Standard Time begins Sunday morning, November 2.  There is always a big discussion about this time of year regarding whether or not to continue this Standard-to-Daylight and Daylight-to-Standard time adjustment.  Some love the extra hour of daylight in the evenings.  But that has to be tempered with the fact that that hour was taken from the morning, making sunrise well after many people are at work and kids are going to school.  No extra hour of daylight magically appears in the day.  We rob Peter to pay Paul.

I don’t know if I like it or not.  Yes, I like the hour in the evening in the summer.  But I don’t like getting up to darkness or barely daylight in the morning as the days shorten.

Whatever is done or not done, not everyone will be happy.  There will always be factions on both sides of the discussion, and many occupying the middle areas.  That’s the way it usually is with most things.  We should know by now that we can say our piece…our opinion…then let the chips fall where they may.  If they are in our favor…good.  If not, well, we live to fight another battle.

Thanks for listening this week.  Regardless of which side you’re on regarding Daylight Saving time, remember the God who created time and daylight…and created you.

 

Blessings,

All of You

Good morning!

 As you probably know by now, I coordinate a lot of the benevolence at RiverWalk.  We work with our members who are in need, and we also reach out to non-members as we can and are able.  Our non-member outreach is more limited in scope compared with member needs, which is, we believe, as it should be.  Paul tells the Galatian Christians to do good to all, and especially to those who are of “the household of faith,” as he puts it.

We also recognize that there is much more need than what we can possibly fill, so we have concentrated our efforts somewhat.  We recognize the issues with homelessness, and work some in that arena; however, there are many other non-profits and churches who also are working in that arena.  What isn’t so well-known are the issues surrounding those who still have housing…still have a roof over them and food on the table, but are just days or perhaps weeks from losing those things due to illness, injury, unplanned financial needs, job loss, or some other issue.

We have found that once an individual or family crosses that line from housed to unhoused, it immediately becomes incredibly difficult to get back into the realm of the housed.  Suddenly, there is no mailing address.  There is no place to store and prepare food.  There is no place for routine hygiene.  Transportation becomes problematic.  Access to clean water and other utilities is difficult or non-existent.  Where to store personal effects is an issue.  If there’s an eviction on record that caused the homelessness, good luck renting ANYTHING in the future.

There’s just a whole slew of things that come crashing down right away, overwhelming that individual or family in ways that make life incredibly hard, and getting back into housing even harder.

So, we concentrate more on trying to keep people in housing if possible.  Sometimes, there’s not a lot we can do.  Sometimes, all it takes is a few gallons of fuel in a gas tank so that person can get to work so they don’t lose their job due to not showing up.

Some of those we interact with in these situations are “rookies,” so to speak.  They’ve never been in a near-homeless situation before.  They haven’t much of a clue regarding how to navigate these new waters.  They don’t know what, if any services might be available.

And, they’re scared.  Their sense of security is gone.  They are stressed.  They hesitate to tell anyone due to shame.  They’re trying to juggle it all and keep things in the air, but are watching the balls fall to the ground one by one.

And if they have a family…spouse…kids…are caring for a disabled family member…have health issues of their own…the stress and fear are all the greater.

There are shelters for men and for women.  But family shelters…what family shelters there are…are always full.  There’s no moving in to one immediately…or possibly ever.

These are the people that we try to work with as much as our limited budget will allow.  Sometimes we can’t help.  Sometimes we can.  It’s dependent on the need as well as our resources.

And I suspect it…the need…of members as well as non-members…will only increase with time.  As the population of the metro area grows, more will naturally be in need.  Society and government play a part in the increasing need.  However, I believe that the number one cause of increased need is the degradation of the family unit.  Families don’t care for each other as they used to do.  Family units are torn apart by greed, lust, and sin.  People don’t know their extended families.  It’s an epidemic in many ways.

Government cannot help in any material way.  The answer has to come from within.  There needs to be a change of heart…a change of attitude…a change of soul in individuals…one person at a time…one family at a time.

Believe what you will, but I’m telling you that the man Jesus, who is also called the Christ of God, is that answer.

Will faith in Jesus Christ be a magic bullet that suddenly makes it all right?  No.  But it will, over time, create, as King David once said, “a new heart,” in those who believe and follow the teachings of Jesus.  That "new heart," will in turn and over time bring about a new way of thinking and a new way of living.

I’ve seen it happen far, far too many times to believe it’s pie in the sky thinking.  And you…you who are stressed, afraid, and are feeling lost and alone…what does it hurt to look into this Jesus thing…to give it a try.  But be warned.  You’ll have to go “all in” or not at all.  God’s not satisfied with just part of you.  He wants all of you.  Consider it. 

Going Back

Sometimes when we are in a quiet and meditative moment, we think back on things that happened in our life long ago.  Sometimes, those events might have included perhaps a teacher from our elementary or high school years.  Or maybe a special friend from our teen years.  Maybe we recall something that happened from a prior work experience.  It could be something we remember from a trip or vacation.  Or maybe it's something having to do with our family, our children, or friends.  I know my descriptions of those things right now are very general in nature, and I intended for them to be that way.  Because each of us has our own memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, that remain in our minds from long years ago.

And with those memories often come the thoughts of more innocent times.  We think about healthier bodies that responded much better to what our brains told them to do than they do now.  We think about the security of living with parents who loved us and cared for us.  We remember relationships we had with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives.  We think of teachers and others who mentored us, accepted us, and yes, loved us.  The carefree childhood days of summer, the Christmases past of family gatherings, the birth of our own children.  We have many memories, at least most of us do, of a mostly pleasant and innocent time.

And we sometimes long for those kinds of times to come back into our lives as we deal with the issues of today.  We juggle health issues, deal with bureaucracies of many kinds, try to understand societal ills such as homelessness and addiction, work hard sometimes to foster and maintain relationships, and we lament for those in far off lands who are starving or killed due to the actions of those with a lust for power and dominance.

Yes, we had the cold war and the atom bomb back in the 1950's.  We had illnesses then…polio, measles, and others, that had no prevention or cure.  Some of us remember the Iron Lung…Google it if you don’t know what that was.  We also had the Iron Curtain and the after-effects of World War II and Korea...automobiles that were death traps.  The Interstate Highway System was in its infancy.  Smoking was considered to be fashionable.  Family planning and birth control were very hit and miss.

But by and large as kids, we didn't worry so much about those kinds of things and just lived our lives.  We didn't have, at least in my experience, all of the stress and strain of trying to deal with the world's ills while at the same time trying to navigate our own daily lives.

Today we're bombarded with the latest to come out of the 24 hour news cycle.  We have pundits and commentators constantly barraging us with their opinions and half-truths, trying to bring us around to their point of view.  Politicians are experts in twisting the truth to their advantage without plausibly being accused of outright lying.  We are urged to buy everything from insurance to household gadgets to Verbo vacations.  We’re told the country is going to the dogs in one breath, and someone else tells us how great everything is in the next breath.  We’re pulled this way and that.  Relationships have generally become more superficial and more dependent on our political or religious views.  It seems like a different world…and in many respects, it is.

But even though we recall the past and sometimes wish things were different, we don’t live in the past.  We live in the here and now, on our way to the not-yet.  The past is behind us and done.  It’s effects on us remain, but to go back and live it again is not within our power to do.

And to be honest with ourselves, if we really thought it through, how many of us really would want to go back and live it again…the childhood years of bumps and bruises and broken bones…those awkward teen years of first love, or rejection by the in crowd.  Or those years when we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do in life and hadn’t a clue how to proceed.  Those years when we didn’t have two nickels we could rub together.  The years when we lost our parents, grandparents, and others to old age or illness.

It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns back then, contrary to what we might think.  There were real issues…real life-and-death decisions…real consequences…real dangers.  Do we really want to go back to the dial telephone, polio and the Korean war?  I think not.

But, can we today obtain at least a measure of what we might describe as the innocence of those years?  I think we can.  Now, I don’t advocate that we go live under a bridge somewhere and drop out of society.  But I do think we can choose to NOT listen to the constant noise of those selling half-truths of some kind and political dogma from whatever camp it may be coming from.  We can choose to be aware of what’s going on around us, but realize that we can affect only what is in our sphere of influence.  We can be circumspect in our decisions to enter into a conflict of some kind or bow out and live to fight another day.

We may not be able to control the 24 hour news cycle, the latest tragedy overseas, or what this or that politician says or does..  But we CAN decide whether or not we will be controlled by those things.  We CAN decide what our response will be to those things.

And most of all, we can continue to affirm, develop, and revel in our relationship with the ONE who never changes…never falters…never disappoints…always loves…always cherishes…always listens.  As the old song says about the God of the Universe…”I go to him in prayer…he knows my every care…”  Spend some time in prayer this day.

 

Blessings,

Positive Difference/Negative Difference

 Good morning!

 I don’t know if you’ve been outside yet, but the day is starting out just beautifully.  The air is clean following a brief shower earlier, there is just a hint of crispness in the air, and the world is going about normal business for this Thursday.

Yes, we have issues “out there” in the world today.  We continue to see grown men and women act like four-year-olds in Washington D.C. as well as Topeka.  We continue to have death and destruction in places like Gaza, Minnesota, and Kansas.  Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural occurrences plague parts of the world.  Yes, we do have our share of issues…both natural and man-made.

But God has also provided us with a glimpse of what the creation could be…and will be one day through the present glory of nature and the goodness of mankind that is often on display.  Yes, there is the presence of God in nature, and there are countless acts of goodness and service…some of which we are privileged to know about, see for ourselves, or even be part of.

As you may know, Jane Goodall, the woman who conducted more than six decades of field research on the social and family life of wild chimpanzees, and became quite famous doing so, died recently.  Circulating on social media is a quote attributed to her.  This is what she was purported to have said at one time:  “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

As I see it, there aren’t many choices when it comes to the kind of difference you may want to make in your daily life and living routine.  It seems to me that we can make either a positive difference of some kind, or a negative difference…and that’s about the extent of the choices.  It’s the very rare person who, in the course of his or her day, makes no difference at all.  In fact, I would step on a limb here and say that making no difference is not possible, regardless of who you are, what you do or what your situation is on any given day.

So, if I want to make a positive difference today, how might I best do that?  Well, as a Jesus disciple, my answer would be to emulate the life of the man from Galilee.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.  Be kind to one-another…tenderhearted, forgiving one another.  Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”  And if you’re a Jesus follower, you can surely think of other ways to make a positive difference in your daily living and interactions with others.

So, what would be the antithesis of that…the opposite of making a positive difference?  It would seem to me to be just the opposite of what I just said regarding how we make a positive difference.  “Love yourself and care not for your neighbor.  Treat others with disdain…put them down and elevate yourself.  Continue holding grudges and get even.  Worship the gods of the world…money, sex, and power.”

It seems kind of bold of me to put the negative difference makers in such plain English.  I want to reel back and say, “No, I don’t do those things!”  But if I’m honest with myself I have to admit that those things are lurking inside of me, and if given the chance will rise up in some way that makes ME the god…that makes ME the one I want to serve.

And they can be subtle…so subtle, in fact, that we actually believe we’re doing something good and noble when in reality we’re doing it only for ourselves and for our own gratification.

Being truly kind, serving, forgiving and loving is more difficult than one might think, and requires a strength not found within ourselves.  We have to go outside of ourselves to find that strength and motivation.  And for many of us, THAT is found in a relationship with that same Jesus we mentioned a bit earlier…the one of whom it is said is indeed God in the flesh…the one we can know and can emulate as he himself lived among us and showed us what it means to love, forgive, and serve, putting away our selfishness and pride.

Yes, Ms. Goodall.  I think you are correct.  We DO have an impact on the world around us each day…whether that world is in the office where we work, the home where we live, the hospital room where we are recovering, the nursing home room where we are spending our last days, the school where we learn, or the grocery store where we buy our necessities.

And so I leave you with this thought today.  The question is, will that impact be positive or negative.  Will we make the world…or at least our corner of it…a better place for our having been there, or will we leave that corner in shambles at the expense of others and for our benefit?

 Blessings,

So Overwhelming

 Good afternoon.

 Part of what I do with my work at RiverWalk is benevolence.  And part of that specific work is sometimes putting gas into the vehicle tank of someone who is in need.  I actually put the gas in for them; I don’t just give them cash or a gift card.  I’ll meet them at the gas station…usually a QuikTrip or maybe a Dillons…visit with them, and pump their gas for them.

I usually meet them at one of the downtown QuikTrips…Seneca & West Douglas, Kellogg and South Broadway, or maybe East Douglas and Washington.  I’ll usually get there before our client, and will park in one of the stalls that is NOT at a gas pump.  I’ll wait for the client to come in, then meet up with them and get them what they need.

Sometimes I arrive several minutes before the client, and usually take that time to just watch the goings-on at the QuikTrip.  It’s always busy there.  People are constantly driving in and out, going in and out the building, and generally creating movement.  Sometimes there will be a homeless person or two around outside, or maybe a QuikTrip employee will be outside emptying trash or doing some other kind of cleanup.

Sometimes I see a particular person and wonder what their day is like.  I wonder what kind of life they’ve been living the past years.  I wonder what the future may hold for them.  I wonder if they’re feeling positive today or are down.  I wonder just how healthy they are and if they have access to the care they may need.  Yes, I know these are questions with few answers…and that even the person himself or herself would not know how to answer some of those types of questions.

And then I visit with the one we’re helping with fuel.  Sometimes they don’t tell me much.  But sometimes they sort of pour it all out right there at the gas pump.

Like today, we pumped gas for a woman who seemed to be somewhat down.  I gently probed, and found out that her landlord has asked her to move from her section 8 house because he needs to do a complete renovation, and doesn’t have another place for her to go.

She knows finding a section 8 house is difficult at best, and the cost of private housing is even higher.  There’s the expense of moving, first and last month rent and deposit, getting the kids into a new school, the utilities, and all the other that comes with this kind of situation.

Her comment to me was, “It is just so overwhelming at times.”

Earlier today we helped a social worker with some food for someone she was working with.  The client was physically impaired, not even able to walk out to her mail box, let alone go to the grocery store or other chores we take for granted.  She got meals on wheels once a day and had been living on that.

The client needed some kind of mattress, because she was sleeping on a futon which was on a sheet of plywood.

The social worker volunteered that the client was raped awhile back and couldn’t bear to sleep on the same mattress that she was raped on.  She had tossed the mattress away and was making do with a futon.  She filed a police report, but was not told, she says, about support services that might be available to victims of sexual assault.  The police are supposed to provide that information, and may have tried, but in the emotions of the moment she may not have understood what they were trying to do for her.  However, there should have been some follow-up, but that evidently didn’t happen.

The social worker is working with her to obtain some of those needed services.  In the course of my conversation with her, the social worker told me, “It’s all so overwhelming.”  She was speaking about the load that she herself was carrying in trying to make a small positive dent in the lives of those who come to her for services who are so broken in so many places and ways.

It’s Thursday afternoon.  Each Thursday afternoon, I mentally feel like I’ve just run a marathon this week.  I don’t work Fridays, so have a three-day weekend to recover.  But even then I usually have responsibilities on Sundays at the church.  I too sometimes feel like it’s all so overwhelming.  The weekend, though, is welcome, and I usually spend a lot of it on the back patio…at the edge of the park…and just be for awhile.

I wrote on Facebook recently about a conversation I had with a friend who spoke of “finishing strong,” regarding our lives and how we as older folks choose to use the time remaining that God has given us.  I want to finish strong.  I don’t want to lay around the house doing nothing…and I think Pat wouldn’t want me there in any event.

The idea of finishing strong has become one that is at the forefront of my mind, and probably will be for a considerably long time.  It’s what I want to do should God give me the grace and mercy to do that.

The QuikTrip parking lot and gas pumps are, I think, a decent sampling of life for many.  Some time when you have some time, stop by one, park where you can see the action, and just observe for a few minutes.  Who knows?  It may open up a whole new understanding of our society and give you a much better shot at knowing and understanding how many people live their day.  It isn’t all unicorns and rainbows.  In fact, I have yet to see a unicorn at a QuikTrip.  But it is life…life in the here and now…life for many just trying to get through the day relatively intact.

 

 

Blessings…

Continue On

 Good afternoon.

 The wife and I like to watch old TV.  Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnett, Hogan’s Heroes, and M.A.S.H. are some of our favorites.  We enjoy these old shows for a couple of reasons.  First, because we won’t see anything on any of these shows that is beyond a PG rating.  Second, these shows remind us of times past and gone when we would watch them with our parents and family.  And third, there were some unique and truly professional people on these shows…people of the caliber that is difficult to replicate in today’s world.  Buddy Ebson, Dick VanDyke, Tim Conway and others were fun to watch and demonstrated great (dare I say “one of a kind”) talent and ability in their field.

One of the shows I most like to watch, and which affects me the most is M.A.S.H.  We’re on, oh, I don’t know…the seventh or eighth (at least) repeat of the shows.  There were a total of 256 shows produced, and we’ve seen them all multiple times.  Yet the show continues to touch my heart in ways few other things do.  Why?

I think there are a couple of things at work here.  First, I was in EMS and health care for a number of years, so I have some familiarity with the scenes in the show.  Not only was I an ambulance attendant, but at the small hospitals where I worked, I also was frequently called on to help in the emergency room, in patient rooms, X Ray, or some other patient-related area.  I’ve seen a lot in my health care career.  I’ve seen, I’m guessing, about 30 people take their last breath…many of them people I knew.  I’ve worked accidents and other scenes where the victim was already deceased.  I’ve done suction, CPR, oxygen therapy, and other procedures as directed by a provider in the emergency room, patient room, or ambulance.

However, in all of this, one thing stood out.  I wasn’t alone.  We worked together, the other staff and me, as a team to do the best we could for the patient.  In those times, it didn’t matter if I particularly liked another staffer or not.  We did what we needed to do; we did it the best we could; and we often had good outcomes.

Second, there is the continual storyline in the M.A.S.H. show that the work never really ends.  People die.  Nurses and doctors go home.  Others ship out to some other part of the war.  Some new people move into the life of the 4077.  Yet the patients continue to come.  They just keep on showing up.

Finish one 30 hour O/R session…another one comes around in a day or two.  Save this soldier; lose the next one.  Patch them up so they can go back to the front and the fighting.  It all seems so pointless.  Yet, they do it anyway.

They do their jobs and do them well.  Each one…each one from colonel to private can be relied upon to carry out their particular mission at the M.A.S.H.  They do the hard things.  They do them well.  And they do them one. Patient. At. A. time.

 

There’s a lesson there…a lesson for us all, and particularly for me.  Sometimes it’s hard to even get up in the morning, let alone come in to work knowing that the day is largely an unknown quantity.  Yes, I have some idea what I’d like to accomplish this day, but I don’t know from moment to moment who may show up at the office door.  I don’t know what the next phone call may be about.  The emails come all day, without advance notice.  A member suffers a medical emergency.  Maybe a member comes to my office door with bad news of some kind.  The office visitors to our entrance door usually have some kind of need that requires some kind of immediate attention.  And just as is portrayed on some M.A.S.H. episodes, the need expressed is often a felt need when the real need lies hidden behind eyes that have seen entirely too much suffering and pain.

I get inspiration to continue the work we do at RiverWalk from many of the M.A.S.H. episodes.  I also am inspired by those I know in the greater Wichita community who, along with thousands of others, get up each day, knowing that the things they’ve planned for the day often will be supplanted by some kind of emergent situation that becomes the priority of the moment.

They will see the parts of society that most will never see.  They will interact with and work with people whose full time job is figuring out how to survive the day.  They will be doing the hard things…and doing them with compassion, kindness, and competence.

None of us will see the full picture.  We will only see what has been presented to us, and we may occasionally glimpse the story of another co-worker.  But somehow, it all seems to fit together and work together toward the goal of renewal…renewal of body and renewal of spirit.  The things my friends Suzie, Jennifer, Ryan, Julie, Tim, Mike, Kristen, Alaina, and a host of others do every day are all geared, whether they always realize it or not, toward renewal and new creation.

The work can be difficult.  It can be intense.  More often than it should be, the client we are working with will not follow up or help their situation in any meaningful ways, and we may have to disengage from that situation.

The work tends to drain us of both physical and emotional strength.  It often seems, just like in the M.A.S.H. episodes, to be a never-ending battle.  And it often seems like we’re all stuck in the mud, never moving forward, and sometimes getting stuck even deeper in the mire and muck.

Yet we continue…churches and faith communities, non-profits, government, and most of all individual people…we all continue to, as the Apostle Paul said, “press on toward the goal.”  That same apostle also admonished us to “Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  Good words.

Continue on…

 

Blessings…

An Intense Week

 Good afternoon.

 I say at the outset that I wrote most of this before September 11, but am recording it on Friday the 12^th.  You need to know that I very much have 9-11 on my mind today.  I watched it all unfold.  I grieved with the rest of the country as the towers fell…first one, then the other.  I thought about the future…what that might look like as we prepared for a war of the kind we had never fought before.  The Super Bowl commercial for Budweiser that ran only one time…the one with the Clydesdales kneeling still brings tears to my eyes.  This has been an intense week politically…with the Kirk assassination and the 9-11 observance.  It has also been intense for me personally this week as I had to attend to several situations that drained much of my emotional energy.  That’s one reason why I’m recording this on Friday instead of Thursday.  So, with that understanding, let’s launch into the thought for this week.

I don’t know who Charlie Kirk was.  I think I can truthfully say I had never heard of his name before his assassination.  I normally don’t pay much attention to political activists of any party or persuasion.  As an Independent, I do my best to try to find information from the least biased sources possible, something I find increasingly difficult and practically impossible to do.  Political activists just don’t fill that bill for me.  I’m sure they have their place, and I respect that.  Just not for me.

However, to silence anyone..anyone because of their political speech or belief is so far beyond the bounds of human decency.  I’m old enough to remember the assassination of JFK, RFK, and MLK in the 1960’s.  I’m old enough to remember the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.  And there are others…some relatively recently.

Let me say it again.  To silence or attempt to silence anyone because of their political speech or belief is far, far beyond the bounds of human decency.  There is no place for this kind of violence.  And, may I say, there is no place for most kinds of violence we hear about on a daily basis…political or otherwise.

In 1992, Rodney King famously said, “Can’t we all just get along?”  That question remains unanswered in the minds of many, and in the minds of others, the answer is a resounding, “NO.”  But in the hearts of multitudes of Americans today, that question has been eliciting a “Yes,” answer over the decades…an answer that daily is being tested and tried.

So, what is the answer?  How do we fix this?  I’ll tell you now that I don’t have the answer.  I don’t know how we fix someone’s desire and need to kill someone they disagree with politically.

What I do know is that we can look inward.  We can look at our own biases…our own beliefs…our own tendencies.  We can take a good look at what we hear on TV or radio, what we see on social media, what we read and absorb.  We can take another good look at how we think about others who disagree with us politically, religiously, or philosophically, and how we might act toward them.  We can check our speech…the words we say and how we say them.  We can control our own thoughts and motives.

And if we find we cannot control those thoughts or actions, we can get the help we need in order to bring those things under control so we don’t contribute to the problem, but rather become part of the solution.

In other words, we may not have any influence over what the President says, or what the Senate Minority Leader says.  We may not be able to influence the speech of our Governor or Attorney General.  But we CAN decide what WE are going to say and do and think, and we can find the help we need if we have trouble doing that.

By the way, this kind of thing applies not only to political things…it also applies to religion and religious belief.  Belittling, talking down to, name-calling, and the like do nothing to promote harmony, peace, and unity.  They do a LOT to promote division, discord, and violence.  Think about it before you go off half-cocked on someone else because of their religious belief, their political persuasion, or one of any number of other things that we might use to stereotype or discriminate.

OK, now that I’ve said my piece on this, let me tell you we had a great weekend at the Eastwood Church of Christ in Hutchinson.  They hosted Keith Lancaster, founder of Acappella Ministries for a weekend “Songfest.”  The name tells what we did…we sang…acappella…both new as well as old songs of the church.  ‘Twas an experience of a lifetime, if I might say.

And, we, the bride and I, got to go to the Kansas State Fair on our own sans grand kids.  We separated pretty much as soon as we got through the entrance gate.  She went her way and I went mine.  We met up a couple of times and did some things together, but all in all it was a relaxing time for the both of us to get to see what we wanted to see, but not have to wrangle grand kids.

I saw some of the livestock exhibits, which she doesn’t care so much for…and she was able to see some of the more, um, domestic exhibits that are on the fairgrounds.  We rode some of the more tame rides that we traditionally go for…the train…the Old Mill…the sky ride.  We avoided the twirly, whirly, shake-em-up rides as well as the carnival games that no one can win.

We ate ice cream under the grand stand…had a funnel cake, and enjoyed lunch in the Cottonwood building.  I got my usual catfish lunch and she got the chicken & noodles lunch.  Pretty good stuff.  We bought some honey to bring home, and generally had a pleasant day of cooler weather and not a lot of sunshine.

If you have a chance, you need to take a day and go to the fair.  Yes, it costs some money to do it, but the entertainment is cheap, and they have a lot of free stuff on the fairgrounds.  The Lake Talbot boat rides, the giant slide, the train, sky ride, and Old Mill are all owned by the fair, which keeps prices in line so families can afford to have a really enjoyable day at the fair.

And while you’re in Hutchinson, check out Stratica the salt mine as well as one of the better aero-space museums around…the Cosmosphere.  The zoo is free admission and is a pretty nice one for the free admission.  Check them out soon.

 

Blessings, all.