Monday Motivation

Beware the ides of March!
Make good choices!

John

Life in the Ozarks

It's mid-afternoon on a cloudy Sunday and I find myself where I will soon be finding myself on a regular basis -- sitting on the deck, smoking a cigar, and listening to the sounds of nature. Because the day is grey and dreary, the peeper frogs are already making themselves heard even though it's hours before their usual active time. If you are not familiar with their sound, it kind of sounds like the someone hung sleigh bells in from trees. 

I don't mind the little bit of rain we've had the past few days. I'm going to need to be turning some ground this week to get the garden area ready and I am hopeful that the rain will make it easier. Truthfully, I could be working today, but I'm enjoying this moment as it is. The damp air and cool wind make sitting on the deck futon pretty inviting. I've added a DVD player to my outdoor setup and expect to be doing daily Tai chi when the mornings are consistently warm enough. 

I was planning on shaving the beard at the spring equinox on Saturday -- kind of a personal farewell to winter and hello to spring. I may not wait that long since Chris seems to be tiring of my long hair, unshaved face, and general unkempt appearance. Time for a shave and a haircut (two bits)! Personally, I'm okay with it long, but you know the saying -- Happy wife, happy life!

I was going to post my Student Venues lesson from this morning, but since it is a little bit about Celtic Christianity, I figured I'll wait until St. Patrick's Day to post it. (Actually, as I type that I think that I should go ahead and set it up now and just schedule it to post on Wednesday morning.)

The sky is looks like more rain soon and there are rumbles of thunder along with the occasional bolt of lightning, so I'm going to sign off and enjoy the sounds of nature and the majesty of God's creation. 

Be well, friends!
John

Coffee, Connections, and Contemplation

Last spring my son was working in Tepic, Nayarit MX. He was working with the local coffee growers during the harvest. Since then, I've been able to enjoy some of that harvest that has been imported and roasted by some American coffee roasters. 

This first one was roasted in Chicago and the profits all went to support mental health and suicide awareness. 

The second was from an association that is made up of all women growers.

And most recently, the Sip of Hope coffee was used by a craft beer company in this coffee porter.

The thing is -- I have a connection to each of these products. My son was a part of bringing these products to my palate. He met and worked with the growers of the beans that went into them. He was at the mills where the cherries were processed, and he was one of the people cupping and grading the beans. It's almost as if I have some small investment in (and connection to) the people, the earth, and the coffee, itself. 

This morning's coffee is a single origin coffee from the mountains of Honduras. As I sip this coffee, I am thinking about the farmers that grew and harvested the cherries. I'm thinking about the people that processed and transported the beans. I'm thinking there were a lot of people involved in bringing me this coffee from the earth on a mountain in Honduras to my coffee cup in Highlandville MO...
...and I am so appreciative of their contributions to my morning ritual. 

When I look at it that way, it is a wonder this cup of coffee doesn't cost a small fortune!
But more than that, there is great value in pausing to enjoy the quiet moment, savoring the taste and subtle flavors of the region, and feeling connected to the people that produced and brought this simple cup of coffee to the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri. 
The coffee beans that came into existence on a mountain in Central America will end up as grounds decomposing in the soil of Southwest MO. It's really kind of amazing.

How are you connected today?
How far has somebody reached to touch your life?
How far will your influence and contributions of the day reach?
Are we all connected?

John

Church Hurt: a rant

I don't even know where to begin.
I suppose an easy place to begin is with the reason for thinking along the lines of people being hurt by the church or by church people. While Beth Moore has been in the Baptist news circle for some time, she recently made it into mainstream news by making the announcement that she is leaving the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).  

Over the years there have been many of us that have left the SBC for a number of reasons. Many have been sexually abused at the hands of church leaders. Others have been spiritually abused and manipulated. So many of the ones that left the SBC have completely left church, religion, even God. (I wonder if this is where that millstone thing from Matt 18:6 comes into play.)
Perhaps the most disheartening thing about Ms. Moore's leaving the SBC is the comments being left by people that feel it's the best thing -- for the SBC. They view a woman that loves Jesus to her core as more of a threat to their patriarchy and would rather see her silenced than have her spreading the Word of God.
And while there are some in the SBC world that will lament her leaving, there has been no one to notice nor mourn the thousands that have left before her (and continue to leave) because of the very non-Christlike behaviors and opinions of church leaders.

It's pretty amazing once you are able to step back from the midst of the chaos. I now know so many people that have struggled with being hurt by the very people that are supposed to love and comfort you. Each time I hear their stories I have to wonder if my words or actions played a part in someone's being hurt or in their leaving God behind.
I wonder if there is a millstone (or worse) waiting for me.

How is it that we have let religion separate us from God and from each other?
The very word - religion - means to re-connect (think re-ligament).
 
If I am to be honest with you and with myself, I really don't think much of American Christianity. I think it has become a power structure like any other power structure where the leaders exert control and suppression and do so for their personal gain and glory. They have set up their rules about who can join their churches and who gets into heaven. Even those that genuinely love Jesus are coerced into working within the accepted rules to share that love or (like Ms. Moore, myself, and countless others) they are silenced or forced out and condemned. 

While I no longer have the platform (nor the pulpit) to share God's love with others, I am pretty convinced that God doesn't need me to tell people about God's love and mercy. I believe what God wants is for me to show people that love and mercy. When I look at the preachers of my past (myself included) I see a lot of talkers. When I look at the people that surround me today, I see people that daily show God's love to the ones that most need to know they are loved.  

I'll take these meek, more organic, non-churchlike, followers of Jesus over the loud talking American Evangelical (self-proclaimed) Christians any day. 

(end rant)

John

Why are grey days depressing?

Thanks to Meghan Markle openly talking about thoughts of suicide, depression is something people are talking about for the moment. I'm sure that it will soon be relegated back to whispers and closed door conversations, but for now we can think about it in terms of healthcare and not just mental healthcare.
Before I get into this post, I have to remind you that I'm no expert on anything related to depression or mental health. In fact, I'm not an expert on anything at all. I do not suffer from depression, so I can't even offer any first hand observations. These are just some thoughts and observations that enter into my head and make me wonder about stuff.

Long winter nights, long winters, overcast days, periods of grey, rainy days, all seem to have a way of triggering depressive swings. A lack of exposure to direct sunlight seems to have a very negative effect on most people -- not just people that suffer from depression.
One of the aspects of becoming more contemplative is asking myself -- Why? Why is it this way and does it have to be this way? Can a change of perspective bring about a change of attitude or outlook?

Sometimes I have to remind myself that God moves in the darkness as well as in the light. Genesis teaches that before God created light there was only darkness and in the darkness the Spirit of God moved. When God created light, He didn't do away with darkness -- He separated darkness from the light and called the dark - night, and the light - day. Each has its own purpose and both are necessary.

Nights give us (and most of the plant and animal life) the rest we need. Some things thrive in the night and darkness is their active time. The night is a necessary part of the balance of the earth's life cycles. 
Just as we need dark nights, we need the rain. The rainy days are necessary to replenish and refill the life giving water reservoirs. The rain waters the food crops and the flowers that feed the bees, butterflies, and birds. Isn't it funny how we see a beautiful flower and think of the sunshine that brought it into being, but rarely think of the rainy days and restful nights that were also a part of its beauty and creation.

To be fair -- 
This morning I am enjoying sitting in the sunshine. I hope that I will also enjoy the rainy mornings that are surely in my future. I am a fan of overnight rain showers. The earth being watered while I sleep is perfect -- a rhythmic sound to sleep by, the needed water for life, and we still get to enjoy sunny days for play and work! (I wonder if nocturnal creatures wish it would rain during the day when they're sleeping!)

Maybe if we started to see grey, rainy days and long dark nights as a necessary part of life they would begin to feel less depressing. I'm not advocating that curing clinical depression is as simple as eliminating some of the triggers. I know far too many people that need the chemistry of medical science to deal with their depression. These are just thoughts that help me with those particularly depressing kind of days.

If your depression is more than feeling bad on grey days, please seek professional help. We are slowly moving past the dark times where mental illness is stigmatized. It helps when well known people and celebrities are able to come forward and make mental illness issues as common as other illnesses. Please use the moment to talk to someone that can help you. 

Sorry for the rambling this morning.
I hope that you enjoy your day.

John

What's for breakfast?

Back a number of years ago (I was still working) I was having a tower conversation with a co-worker about an idea I had for breakfast -- fried oatmeal!
Hear me out -- you know if you let oatmeal get cold it turns into a thick, sort of gluey mess, right? I was thinking you can fry that in a skillet, cover it with cinnamon, powdered sugar, or just some butter and syrup and it would be a pretty good breakfast. My co-worker didn't buy it. I think her exact words were, "John Hill, only you would take something healthy like oatmeal and fry it and cover it with sugar to turn it into something unhealthy!"

This morning during the beginning of our Facebook stream of church, someone asked me, "What's for breakfast?" 
While I was typing, "Idk. Probably oatmeal," someone else commented that it would no doubt include an egg or two.
And then I was remembering my fried oatmeal idea from years ago.

After church was over I fired up the griddle so that it would get hot and put 1/2 cup of whole rolled oats and 1/4 cup of water into a bowl. Then I added some crushed pecans and I cut up a strawberry and added them to the cup. I also added a generous amount of cinnamon. To keep things together, I added one egg and mixed it all together. 
It was pretty runny so I added another 1/4 cup of oats and that gave me the consistency I was looking for. The griddle was hot, so I put a little butter on it and poured out the contents of the bowl. I let it cook for a bit on one side then flipped it over and cooked the other side. I did top it with a pat of butter and some maple syrup. 
I know -- it's really just an oatmeal pancake, but because it's me and my original idea was for fried oatmeal -- that's what I'm calling it.

Yeah, it was pretty delicious!
Another successful food experiment.

And I think that I could easily go savory instead of sweet by starting with the oats, water, and egg, and adding onions, garlic, a bit of cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Then I would want to top it with a fried egg and maybe a bit of shredded cheddar!
Mmmm...that will definitely be something for another day!

Bon appetit!

John

Sunday Quiet Time

It's my Sunday morning quiet time. I've had some time to browse through my memories on Facebook, catch up with some news on Twitter, and just enjoy the warmth of the fireplace and a cup or two of coffee.
Some of the articles I read this morning reflected the lack of integrity of so many religious leaders. It's a sad commentary on what American Christianity has become.

Yesterday I read a pastor's tweet that compared a Christian that doesn't go to church with a cancer patient that refuses to go to the hospital. I really wanted to offer my comments about that, but scrolled on because I am not a friend/follower of that pastor and I think it's a bullshit comparison. I stand by my personal assessment that the further I got from religion, the closer I got to God.

I'm in a pretty good spiritual place right now. I enjoy sharing thoughts with the people of The Venues Church where we were attending before the pandemic hit and relegated us to online church. In some ways I do miss the in person services (back on the 28th!), but in others ways I am perfectly comfortable on my computer while sitting by the fireplace or out on the deck (depending on the weather). I guess it's a little sad that I really don't miss being around people that much.
The truth is -- there are quite a few people I am looking forward to seeing and sharing a hug or handshake, and just catching up on the missing year, but still... sigh.

For now, I'll enjoy a few more quiet Sunday mornings. Online church start in a few minutes.
Have a great day.

John

It's the Weekend!

Happy Saturday, my friends!
The weekend weather forecast for SWMO is looking like spring is on the way. I hope to finish building flower beds and raised garden beds. The digging in and leveling the beds will take some work and will probably go into next week.

This past week has kinda sucked on the Lenten resolve. I'm not sure why -- I just didn't have the same motivation. I am looking forward to getting back to it this week. I'm working on those cards and notes of encouragement. I've got several written that I need to get into the mail. They aren't offering much encouragement in my backpack.

Even in the midst of hope from falling case numbers and more people getting vaccinated, there are still stories of despair. I'm a bit surprised at the number of people that are really depressed and isolated due to pandemic restrictions. It's sometimes difficult to empathize when the isolation hasn't bothered me.
Perhaps the most difficult thing is seeing others having to go through difficult times alone.

There are many senior citizens that rely on people to help them, but now are on their own. Even kids and grandkids are avoiding them to protect them from exposure to the coronavirus. 
Many hospitals and healthcare facilities still have protocols in place so that patients have to face surgeries and recovery alone. In the times when we are used to drawing on the presence and strength of others, we are stuck with our own thoughts and fears.

I hope that you will take some time to offer someone some encouragement this week. It will be good for both of you!

In good news -- Chris got her 1st COVID vaccination shot this week. It's weird how exciting getting a vaccination has turned out to be.

Be well,
John 

Ready for Spring

I know that winter isn't over yet, but the early signs of spring are quite encouraging. This morning I am enjoying my coffee and quiet time sitting on the deck! Yesterday's local temperatures reached 70f (21c) and today will be a sunny repeat! I'm going to try to get some outdoor things done -- building flower boxes and raised garden beds -- and just enjoy soaking up some good ol' Vitamin D. 

I have not been on the computer much the past few days. I do hope to continue to keep it minimal as the spring approaches. In reality, I see myself falling back to it some, but hope to at least keep the social media part of my browsing limited. 

I'd like to write more and to share some peaceful thoughts and perhaps a nugget or two of wisdom I've discovered along the way, but the truth is I sometimes find blogging to be a task. The moment it feels like work, I don't feel like writing -- know what I mean?
I'll continue to write and share as the spirit moves me, but for now I've been sitting here long enough to have emptied my small coffee pot and it is time to enjoy the sunshine!

Have a grand day!

John

Changing My Role as an Evangelist

In many ways I have given up on my calling as an evangelist. I no longer feel led to preaching the gospel as a means of recruiting souls into a place where we go when we die. As a Southern Baptist evangelist, that was the role I was expected to fulfill. If the role of the itinerant evangelist is to convince people to walk an aisle, pray some magical words, and receive everlasting life -- well, I was probably never that good at it anyway. Over the past few years, I've been rethinking my calling as a preacher of the gospel.

Depending on where you look, you'll find evangelism defined as something like -- the act of preaching the Christian gospel as a means of sharing the teachings and message of Jesus.
Somehow modern day Christian evangelism has been boiled down to "How to get to heaven" rather than "How to live and love as we make this human pilgrimage."

I just finished reading Matthew's account of The Sermon on the Mount. Over and over, the teachings of Jesus are about how to treat each other and how to honor God. Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. Be kind. Be generous. Be honest. Be forgiving. Love -- did I mention that already?

Jesus says that you can know a tree by the fruit it produces. You can know a person by what they produce, as well. Someone that preaches love, but acts hatefully is a false profit. If your good works are motivated by a need to cover up hateful things, you are not a good person producing good fruit.

I ran across this statement in the middle of a twitter thread this morning:

   
Could it be that the best form of evangelism is not to speak, but to do?
It is said that we should always preach the gospel and when necessary, use words.
That will put a lot of evangelists out of a job!
It's a good thing I had that air traffic controller gig to fall back on!

Love your neighbors.
Love you enemies. (sometimes they're the same people)
Love yourself, too!

John