“The poor you will always have with you…” Those are the words of Jesus of Nazareth toward the end of his ministry. Although the context of the statement was made in connection with the anointing of his feet with expensive oils by a woman shortly before his crucifixion, and the consequent complaint by one of his disciples that the oil might have instead been sold and the proceeds given to the poor…it nevertheless is a statement worthy of consideration.
The Adventure Continues
We continue to have our ups and downs in this life. It's an incredible journey down this road called life and living. We meet interesting people and see things that inspire and encourage. The Adventure Continues!
Thursday, April 03, 2025
The Poor You Will Always Have With You
Thursday, March 20, 2025
"Do the Things"
Good morning, and welcome.
Take this week
for example. Monday morning was occupied
first with a visit to my primary care doctor regarding some lower back pain. Later, at the church office, I began my notes
for the Bible class I will be teaching this coming Sunday.
Monday also was
the day after. The day after keeping
four of our grand kids for the weekend.
Pat and I were both pretty tired; however, we couldn’t rest because two
more of the grands would be dropped off that evening to spend 24 hours with us
Monday night and Tuesday. So, we
mustered our strength and welcomed them warmly.
Tuesday, I
helped move some furniture for a client of ICT SOS…someone who had just moved
into an apartment and needed some donated furniture moved there. I volunteer for ICT SOS from time to time as
I can, and they asked if I could help. I
was happy to do so. I also pretty much
finished my Bible class notes on Tuesday and started to review them.
And, I stopped
at Office Depot and bought a new office chair.
The old chair was literally falling apart…having served me here for the
past 13 or so years. I took the new
chair home and put it together…nothing comes already assembled anymore…to take
to church the next day. The grands went
back to Dad and Mom Tuesday evening, and Pat and I pretty much were done for
the night following dinner at home.
Yesterday,
Wednesday, was a day of cold and wind…again…
It seems we have had more than our share of that kind of weather this
year, but at least now the cold doesn’t last more than a day or so and the snow
doesn’t stick to the ground…at least in southern Kansas. Yesterday was also the day we found mostly
expired food piled at our church door sometime overnight or early morning. The food is so old we can’t use it and we
certainly will not give it away to anyone else.
Instead, we will be throwing it away.
I was so irked I wrote a Facebook post about it and put it on my
timeline.
I also brought
the new office chair to work and exchanged chairs…throwing away the old chair
as it wasn’t good for anyone or anything anymore. The new chair sits higher and has a better
lumbar support than the old one. I am
hoping I’ll soon become comfortable in it and my lower back will positively respond
to the support.
I picked up some
medication at the neighborhood pharmacy for myself and my wife. We use a locally-owned pharmacy just up the
street from the church. It’s convenient
and provides great customer recognition and service. Public Service Announcement here: Please use a locally-owned pharmacy if you at
all can do so. The service is
better. They need your business. And prices are comparable and sometimes less.
Today, because
the wind has died down, I was able to put out some bird seed on the upper deck,
and also filled the bird water dish.
Yesterday, it was so windy that anything I would have put out would have
blown away in a matter of minutes. I don’t
have a lot of bird seed left from the winter months, and would like to make
good use of it in what remains of the late winter and early spring days.
I’m also typing
this Thursday Thought for you today, and wondering what the rest of the day
will be like. It’s been quiet so far
today, as it has been pretty much all week.
It’s bill-paying time for us right now, as we receive our retirement
checks this week. So I’ll be doing that
this weekend. Hopefully, there will be
some money left to live on after the bills are paid.
Well, there you
have it. Those were the highlights of
the week. As you can see, there was
nothing earth-shattering this week. No
skydiving. No deep sea fishing. No exotic vacations to even more exotic Pacific
islands. Just life. Just living.
Just doing the things. There’s an
enjoyment that I get from being able to “do the things.” Doing those things that are part of everyday
life.
One of these
days, I’ll no longer be able to do the things.
Someone else will have to do them.
Either that, or there will be no more things to do. I suspect that I will eventually enjoy that,
too. Because eventually, I’ll have other
things to do…things in the hereafter that God has promised for me to do. Because I believe that the hereafter will NOT
be a floating on a cloud in the great beyond existence…but rather will be in
the new heavens and the new earth…that I will inhabit a body that will not break
down or wear out…and that I will have meaningful and wonderful things to see
and do. I think I’m looking forward to
that day more and more as in the here and now I can…and sometimes want…to do
less and less.
May God bless
you this week as you “do the things” that come your way.
Blessings.
Thursday, March 13, 2025
How Do Insects Fly?
Good morning,
and welcome.
Thursday, March 06, 2025
Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly
Good morning, and welcome.
One day, He
will restore perfect justice and mercy into every piece of this puzzle that is
our world. In the meantime, He invites
me to pick even just one piece of that puzzle and find ways to act justly and
love mercy within that sphere of influence. And, He encourages me with the last part of
the verse He so kindly added, which is to walk humbly…fueled by the
ultimate expression of both justice and mercy, which was Jesus taking up His
cross for us.
Friday, February 28, 2025
A Slightly Different Kind of Thought Today
Good morning, and welcome.
They were
discussing a passage in John regarding the Holy Spirit. In the midst of their comments on the
passage, this snippet of conversation came out.
“The church is to be a working model of heaven on earth.” For me, this was an “aha” moment.
I stopped the
video, rewound, and listened to that portion of the conversation again. I noted the place in the video where it was
found and decided to look at it again today.
I have done so, and continue to be awed by the thought.
There are a
couple of major concepts of heaven.
Without getting deep into the theological weeds of this, one of those
concepts of heaven for Christians is that at the end of time, God will take all
of the saved to some place in the great beyond…heaven, if you will…and earth
and all physical things will be
destroyed. There, we will play harps,
float on clouds, exist in some kind of
ether-like state, and be in that kind of place forever.
The other major
concept is that God will, at the end of time, reunite heaven and earth as it
originally was in the Garden of Eden.
The saved will have real bodies and live in a unified, real, actual
environment where heaven and earth become one.
We will have real work to do, will know others, and enjoy the fruits of
God’s grace.
I believe the
story of God’s love and redemption as found in the Bible points us to the
concept of a reunited heaven and earth.
Consequently, when I heard this statement: “The church is to be a working model of
heaven on earth,” I was immediately caught up in the ramifications of the idea.
So, what do I
believe this should look like? Well, I
don’t claim to have experienced any miraculous visions or dreams which might
give me a glimpse into the afterlife.
But it seems to me that there are two or three things we might consider
as we think about the concept of the church modeling what the new heavens and
new earth might be like.
First, and
perhaps most importantly, the church should model unity. In Revelation, John speaks of those he sees
in his vision of the throne of God: “I
looked,” he said, “And there before me was a great multitude that no one could
count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb.”
Think of
it. People from every place on earth,
from every era…from every century…all together before the throne of God. It seems to me that we need to consider how
we the church…the redeemed of God…model that in the here an now.
Second, I
believe that in this new heavens and new earth, we won’t be idle. We will be given things to do…work to do…work
that is pleasant and fulfilling. Work
that is commensurate with our abilities and talents.
The church can
and in many ways does model this now. Each
one of us has been given some kind of talent or ability. That well-used statement, “I can’t do
everything, but I can do something,” is pertinent in this context. We may not be able to cure cancer, bring
about world peace, or ensure that everyone has enough to eat, but we can each
do our part. We can work within our
sphere of influence to bring about restoration, even if it is just in one small
thing.
You may be able
to think of other ways that the church can model the new heavens and new earth. These two immediately came to my mind as I
thought about it.
I know this Thursday
Thought has been a little different than many.
I want these posts to give you a glimpse into my mind and heart as we
all continue down this road together.
So, from time to time I may wander into a little deeper subject area
such as the one today.
May God bless
you and keep you as together we experience His love and care.
Blessings.
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Spreading the Message
Good morning, and welcome.
Blessings.
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Cake of Ice
I have a niece who lives in Michigan with her family. Theresa is, as most nieces and nephews are, younger than I am. However, she has pretty much raised her family and, even though she might disagree, is rapidly becoming middle age. I'm not sure what that says about my age, but we'll not broach that subject in this post.
Up
until a few years ago, Theresa and nephew hubby Kerry were the typical
middle-class family unit raising kids, attending school functions, buying
groceries, and living the great American dream.
Yes, there were ups and downs in their lives just like there are in all
of ours, but generally, things were going well for them as they made their way
through life and living.
They
still are living the great American dream, and even more so now that their kids
have flown the nest. But something has
changed in these past few years that has created an ocean-change in how they
think and what they do. They have become
aware that not everyone lives the great American dream. They have become aware of societal issues
like injustice, racism, poverty, and the silencing of opposing viewpoints.
And
not only have they become aware, they have acted on that awareness and have...and
continue to bring about great change in their community, their school
system, and in the lives of others. They
and others in the community, through their activism, have brought about a
turnover in the makeup of the city council, the school board, and the local
police department. They managed to have
a discriminatory local city ordinance declared to be unconstitutional and of no
effect by a court of law. They have “marshaled the troops,” so to
speak, and have provided educational opportunities as well as opportunities for
service and support to many in the community and beyond. And they have begun to work on issues on a
state and federal level as well as locally.
It has been an amazing thing for me to watch all of this take place in
their lives.
Here's
what Theresa said just a few days ago about herself on a social media
post: I've told ya'll about how I
have realized my white privilege and ignorance over these years. I didn't pay one bit of attention to politics
and fell prey to the media. I learned shortly
there after that I contributed to the destruction of what we have fought to
become. I have great remorse. It haunts
me to this day. Literally haunts me.
I don't
necessarily agree with Theresa politically, and the social issues in my
personal stable may be some different from theirs. But this isn't a political post on my
part. This Thursday Thought is meant to
awaken you to the truth that none of us lives in a bubble. None of us has absolute protection from those
societal issues that continue to nag at us for help. None of us is an island...all to
ourselves. Each one of us is affected in
some way by those issues. Each one of us
is touched in some way by racism, homelessness, greed, ideological blindness to
truth, and other ills. And each one of
us has a responsibility to act...somehow...in some way...to bring about change.
It is
incredibly difficult at best to make any kind of inroad into the labyrinthine
snarl that is national politics. Yes, we
need to be aware of what's going on there, and do our best to work for change,
even on that level. But our best bet is
working where Theresa and her family have been concentrating their efforts...at
the local level. City council people, school
board people, mayors and others CAN much of the time be approached, and will in
most cases at least listen to a local citizen expressing an opinion. Citizens can rally, protest, march, attend
meetings, speak during the public comment time, and yes, even go to court if
necessary. Theresa and her crew have
done all of that and more.
You may not
be in a position to organize a protest or march. Maybe all you can do is write a letter or
send an email. If you are a person of
faith, prayer is, or should be first on your list of things to do. Christians are called to be
difference-makers...to be a “peculiar people,” as the Apostle Paul puts it...to
“Do justice, love kindness (read that “love mercy”), and walk humbly before the
Lord,” as the Old Testament prophet Micah wrote. We are called to love God and love our
neighbor. And, we are called to do unto
others as we would have them do unto us. But to choose to be ignorant of what is going
on around you, or to choose to ignore the truth when it hits you in the face is
not an option.
I will close
with an excerpt from a play written over 60 years ago by Helen Kromer and
Fredrick Silver, called “For Heaven's Sake.”
It's a satirical musical that pokes fun at those who choose ignorance
and it urges us all to be serious about our choices in life. This excerpt is called “Girl In Ice,” and is
a spoken part rather than a musical part.
It describes
someone who has chosen to live “above” the riff-raff of society...who has
chosen ignorance and apathy over “doing justice, loving mercy, and walking
humbly.”
Hear no
evil...see no evil...speak no evil...NO!
I abhor it and ignore it...all that sin below. All those creatured, ugly featured faces
filled with sin might beguile me, and defile the temple here within!
I'm above
it. How I love it...where the air is
pure. For evil is as evil does. And doing nothing's sure to keep my skirts so
unbesmirched that anyone will fine...I'm lily-white and clothed in light, and
deaf, and dumb, and blind!
I am not
contaminated, for I've simply abdicated.
And I'm staying nice...by freezing up and squeezing up into a cake of
ice.
May none of
us ever become those…cakes of ice.
Blessings,
Thursday, February 06, 2025
Listen To the Quiet
For this Thursday Thought, I’ll be intertwining my own thoughts with some thoughts penned in a blog I found on line by a man named Joe Broadmeadow. I don’t know Mr. Broadmeadow, but I liked this particular blog of his. He says what I often am feeling nowadays.
I don’t know about you, but I think we
live in a very noisy world. And much of
that noise is noise that we make ourselves, for ourselves. We constantly have the television, music, game
apps, earbuds, phones, or other noise makers on and running. If we live in an urban area, we constantly
are hearing car horns, sirens, street noise, and other sounds of the city. We may have neighbors close by who turn up
the volume of whatever it is they are listening to at the moment. Even in more rural areas, there is an
abundance of man-made noise. We can’t
seem to get away from it…or more likely, we don’t want to get away from it.
As Mr. Broadmeadow says, “It’s a rare
moment when we can actually listen to the quiet.”
As I get older, I am more and more drawn
to the quiet. The back yard of our home
butts up against the back side of Pawnee Prairie Park in Wichita. Often, I can go into the yard or sit on the
back patio and hear nothing but the occasional barking dog, someone walking on
the park path, kids playing somewhere in the neighborhood, nearby birds, and
rustling breezes. The noise of West
Kellogg normally doesn’t penetrate. We
live close to Eisenhower Airport, so we do hear the occasional takeoff or
landing. But those are usually
short-lived events. We might
occasionally hear a far-off siren, and sometimes we can even hear a train in
the far distance. The closest tracks are
several miles away, and it takes a certain atmospheric situation for that sound
to travel that far.
I often have the radio in my pickup
turned off. My phone seldom rings or
goes off. I often have the television
off when in the same room. Or if it’s
on, it’s in the background or my wife is watching it. I don’t do noisy video games. I sometimes go somewhere in the house where
there is quiet and I just sit or lay down.
I’ll sometimes turn off my phone entirely. If someone wants me, they can leave a message
or voice mail. When we have grand kids
over, I sometimes will go to a quiet part of the house and “recuperate,” if you
will, for a few minutes. And, I’ve been
known to, when we have company, retire to the bedroom and rest for a few
minutes in a quiet environment.
I well recall many years ago, we
stayed in a bed-and-breakfast somewhere in Central Kansas. The place was out in the countryside in the
Flint Hills. We both had jobs that were
rather intense and sometimes stressful.
We needed a break, so spent, I think, the weekend at this B &
B. One of the first things I noticed there
was how quiet it was when we were outside on the porch. The silence…the lack of any noise whatsoever…was
deafening. It was so much different from
what we were used to…it was a place where we hadn’t been in quite some time…a
place of solitude and quiet. My senses
perked up as I strained to hear something…anything that would let me know I was
OK. But I needn’t worry. I WAS OK.
It was just this strange nothingness…this absence of noise…that had me
worried for a bit.
Ever since then, I have at times
looked for times when I could be still…quiet…and my surroundings were that way
as well. And as I age, I seem to seek
out those times and places with greater frequency and stay in them for longer
periods of time.
I now have hearing aids. I remember when I first wore them at the
hearing place, and they turned them on for the first time. It was like a whole ‘nuther world opened up
for me. I could again hear the various
squeaks, groans, and other noises in places like offices, vehicles, and at home
that I hadn’t heard for years.
But, those aids also made it more
difficult to find quiet…absence of noise.
So, instead, I learned to listen to the sounds of the quiet. Birds singing, rain falling, leaves rustling,
squirrels chattering, owls hooting. It’s
not quite the quiet of not being able to hear.
But it’s the quiet, I believe, that we were always meant to hear and
enjoy.
I’ll end this thought with a quote
from Mr. Broadmeadow, who says this about hearing the quiet. “Taking a moment’s pause to walk in a
snowstorm, anywhere away from the noisy cacophony of the world, one can actually
hear the quit. It may be hard to
imagine, in a city or even a small town surrounded by modern society’s
mechanism, that one can hear snow fall in a quiet forest. But you can…and it will be magical. To hear snow falling, it has to be
quiet. And to hear quiet, one must
listen for it. Shhhh. Listen to the quiet.”
Blessings.
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Why We Do What We Do
Good morning and welcome to another Thursday Thought
In the panoply of things I do in my
work at the church lies the ministry of benevolence. There are many ways that benevolent
ministries can help both church members and those outside of the membership. Some of the more common needs are food,
clothing, transportation, housing, and help with bills. We do get some of the more uncommon requests
from time to time, such as for denture adhesive, eye glasses, and other such
things. But most of the time the requests
wrap around the more common areas of benevolence.
We can’t do everything that comes our
way. We’re a relatively small
congregation, so we’ve decided to concentrate our benevolent help on food,
clothing, utility bill help, and help with fuel for transportation. I also, as the benevolence minister, have a
sort of cadre of social services people who work in the community non-profit
sector who I trust to provide me with good information should they encounter
someone with a need they can’t otherwise fill.
They will contact me and ask if the church could help their client with
this or that. We usually are able to
oblige, and we trust their judgment.
One such client recently came to us by
way of Suzie, one of my social services contacts. Suzie asked me if there was any way we could
provide a little food and some Tylenol and Ibuprofen for a woman she was
helping. The woman was temporarily
staying in a hotel, had been in the hospital, was in recovery, and needed to
stay in town for a short time. She had
no family or resources. Nor did she have
a way or the ability to go somewhere to get what she needed.
I immediately said we could help. Suzie and I made plans to meet later that
day. I went to the pharmacy and bought a
bottle each of generic Tylenol and Ibuprofen.
The total bill was about eight dollars.
We also provided a small box of food from our food stash that the woman
could use in her room by using the microwave.
Suzie gathered the things together and delivered them to the woman.
Yesterday, I received an email from
Suzie about the woman we helped. Here is
what it said: My client wanted me to
thank you on her behalf for helping her with the meds and the food items. She
felt really lost and like nobody cares. I spoke to her this morning and she
sounds way better than she did yesterday.
This is Jay again. I am sometimes asked how many of those we
help in the benevolence ministry attend services with us or want a Bible
study. Their thought is that the
benevolence ministry needs to be an evangelistic ministry…and that if it is not
getting evangelistic results, maybe we need to be doing something else with
those resources.
Very seldom does someone attend
services because of our benevolence.
Even less often does someone wish to study the Bible or discuss
spiritual matters. Most of the time we
don’t even receive a written thank you like I did with this woman, given
through Suzie her social worker. One
might wonder why that is. I think I have
an answer for that.
By far most of those we serve are not
thinking so much about what we might call “spiritual things” as they are
thinking of ways to survive the day.
That survival could include finding a relatively safe place to sleep
that evening, feeding their kids for the first time in two days, keeping the
electric, gas, or water utility collections department at bay for another few
days, or finding a way to get to work that evening so they don’t lose the job
they have.
Most of the time, these people are
struggling to survive…and I mean that in a truly literal sense. They are expending an incredible amount of
time and energy to just be able to live, let alone have the time and energy to
have a Bible study or clean up for church services. I think you would agree that if you had no electricity,
an empty gas tank, and had just been served an eviction notice from the squalid
apartment you were in, you wouldn’t have a lot of desire to sit down and have a
Bible study either.
What I do find with many of those we
help is just what this woman articulated to Suzie. These people feel like they are all
alone…lost…and that no one really cares about them. Often they don’t have family. They often feel like government agencies put
more roadblocks in their way to obtaining resources than work with them to provide
the help they need. They tell me that
many agencies don’t want to listen to them, act like they don’t have time for
them, or reduce their humanity to a number or an appointment.
Being in need of services is all too
often a dehumanizing, degrading, and embarrassing experience. At RiverWalk, we work to make that experience
non-judgmental and as helpful as possible.
With few exceptions, we insist that we personally meet the one in need. We sit down with them, visit with them, hear
their story, try to make them more at ease, and give them the dignity and
respect they deserve. We may or may not
be able to help them with their need.
But hopefully, we can leave them with a good feeling toward the church
and let them know that we care and are hearing them.
I have long ago lost count of the
times I have heard someone thank me for just taking the time to listen, even
though we couldn’t help with their need.
In fact, that very thing happened again just yesterday. I’ve also long ago lost count of the number
of times we have been able to help by at least temporarily removing the threat
of disconnection of utility services and seeing the obvious look of relief wash
over someone’s face, usually a woman, and sometimes accompanied by a sobbing
breakdown here in the office.
The answer to why we do benevolence is
what I’ve just said. We provide dignity,
respect, a non-judgmental listening ear, and sometimes we can provide a sense
of relief, knowing that at least for now, the collections and disconnections
people have been kept away. That, in my
view, makes what we do here truly a ministry…a ministry to the hurting,
marginalized, and forgotten. It’s a
ministry that’s well worth the time, effort, and resources…don’t you think?
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Grace and Peace
Good morning, and welcome.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Good morning, and welcome.
Friday, January 10, 2025
Outside Beauty
Good afternoon, and welcome to this, a Friday edition of the Thursday Thought. That may at first sound a little strange, but I didn't have a chance to write or record the thought yesterday...so am doing it now.
This week was the week of the big snow in South Central
Kansas. Last weekend we received over
three and a half inches of ice and snow.
Yesterday, Thursday, we received another six inches or so of the white
stuff. It's like another world out
there. Sights like this in the Wichita
area are all too infrequent, although I'm sure there are many who would rather
not have to deal with any of it.
We lost power at our place last Sunday morning, but only for an
hour and a half or so. Others weren't so
fortunate and were off for several hours.
We were otherwise fine and comfortable just being in the house for the
weekend, and for part of the day on Monday.
I did venture out to work Monday if for no other reason than to check up
on the church building to be sure all was OK there, as we didn't have services
Sunday and the heat was on, but was set minimally at 50 degrees. It was cold and windy that weekend, and I
wanted to be sure things were OK. They
were.
I stayed for a couple of hours and did some work in the
office. In that time there were two
unhoused gentlemen who came to the door at different times. One who we know as Rocky, needed a few snack
items and to warm up a bit. I let him
in, got him some snacks, asked if he needed anything else, and he went on his
way. He had what seemed to be a good amount
of clothing and coats on, and looked to be OK.
The second gentleman who I didn't know also needed some
snacks. Normally, we don't hand out food
from the office door, but because of the weather and my not thinking to put
food into the Paxton's Blessing Box outside the door, I got him some things as
well. I also invited him in to warm up a
bit. He too seemed to be in good shape
and had good clothing.
I have a background in emergency health care and did quick
assessments of each of them while they were inside because of the cold. I didn't want to send them back out if they
were suffering from the cold...but each of them seemed OK and denied having any
issues with the cold when I asked.
After they left, I put food into the blessing box along with a
pair of gloves and some hand warmers and water.
That was gone before long, so I refilled it before I left the
office. Much of the time, the things we
put into the box don't stay there very long.
They generally are taken by the next unhoused person who comes by and
looks into the box. We can't obviously
fill the box except during times when we are at the office, so it goes empty
much of the time. Our office hours are
approximately 9am to 4pm five days a week, but can vary depending on other
responsibilities we may have away from the office, the weather conditions, or
some other reason.
Putting a lot of food in the box doesn't help because the next
person who comes by will empty the box whether it has a lot or a little in
it. I get it because their next meal may
well not be assured, so they take what is there in order to have maybe two or
three meals ahead. However, we normally
put only enough in there for just one meal so more can take advantage of the
limited amount of food we have available to give.
The Thursday snowfall was much different from the one last
weekend. The Thursday snow was wetter
and came down with virtually no wind to blow it around. Everything is covered, and the temperatures
outside today are at about freezing, so kids can go outside in the sun and
somewhat milder air and enjoy the snow.
It is these kinds of snow days that don't come often enough. Much of our winter snows are accompanied by
ice, or wind, or bitter cold. This one,
however, was just right.
Not much else is going on at the Plank home this week. My thoughts are centered on nature, the
beauty of the snows and the pleasure of watching the various kinds of birds
attack the bird feeder on our deck. The
occasional squirrel manages to sneak some sunflower seeds and peanuts as
well. Lots of juncos, cardinals,
bluejays, and several sparrows, usually the harris sparrows, along with
titmice, black capped chickadees, sometimes a red bellied woodpecker, and even
once in awhile I think I've seen a house finch or two. There are also a few doves that come in,
chase everyone else away, and just seem to park there eating. I let them stay awhile, then chase them away
to give others a chance.
May your weekend be safe, pleasant, and enjoyable, and above
all, may we all glorify God and praise Him for the beauty that is ours to
behold outside.
Blessings.