Wednesday Wisdom

No meme for Wednesday Wisdom today; just an encouraging thought and practice.

Just take a moment to pause and be present in the moment. 
Look up from your computer or phone and take in what is around you.
Listen to the sounds of your environment.
Close your eyes and consider what is within you. 
Can you feel your heart beat?
Can you hear your breathing?

Just a few moments of purposeful peace can reset your day.
Do it as often as you need throughout the day.

John

It's a Work Week---sort of...

When I retired (now 7+ years ago) one of my older cousins warned me that there are no days off in retirement. Well this week will be a little bit of a work week, but not really.

I get to preach again this morning at Sparta Christian Church, it is my week of rotation as volunteer chaplain at  Mercy Hospital in Aurora, and I will serve as the minister at the interment of an old friend's ashes at the Missouri Veterans' Cemetery on Friday.

I do feel better about preaching today than I did last week. Hopefully I'll find my rhythm this morning and be a bit like my old self. Currently, I'm watching and listening to the chatter of hummingbirds at their feeder while enjoying my morning coffee, reviewing my notes, and now typing out a short post. 
Asking about favorite Bible stories in my last post didn't generate any comments. I hope that part goes better at church this morning!

Have a great week.
Say a prayer for the retired guy that's taking time off from being retired this week, if you don't mind.

John

Summer is Waning

As the summer gets closer to its end and fall draws near, I notice the morning sun now shining onto the deck. As the sun moves southward towards its winter course, we get more sun on the deck. It works out nicely. With our mostly southern facing deck, we get sun in the colder winter months and shade throughout the summer.
*sigh*
I am not one of those "looking forward to fall" kind of people.

In recent years, I've found another reason to dislike winters. As hard as SWMO summers can be on our unsheltered population, the winters can be brutal--even deadly. I know that there is more that our communities can do to help solve most of the problems faced by our unsheltered friends, but I also know that this Bible belt community isn't all that charitable towards the people that Jesus commanded we help--you know, the poor, the hungry, the sick, etc.
Ugh!
It's embarrassing that Christian people can be so ugly and that only a handful of churches seem to care.

On Sunday morning I'll be sharing a simple lesson I learned from one of my favorite Bible stories.
I'm curious.
What's your favorite story from the Bible?
And why?

I'll be at a small country church in a rural community. They don't have an online feed, so I can't invite you to join that way. But if you are local to Christian county and feel like making the trip to Sparta, I'll be at Sparta Christian again. Church is at 11.

John

PS  Please comment and share you favorite Bible stories and what they teach you

Paybacks are a B_______!

Blessing!
Paybacks are a blessing.

When Dad was sick and needed frequent rides to doctor visits or to the hospital, and even now for Mom's needs, there have been so many people that volunteered to provide transportation for them. I know that all of us kids are very grateful to the people that stepped up to help them when we are too far away to take care of those needs.

Yesterday morning I received a text from a staff member of The Venues wondering if somebody could provide transportation to the surgery center for a person whose planned ride was no longer available. I was glad that I was the first to respond and am able to help. It feels good to be able to give back, even if it isn't to the actual people that helped Mom and Dad. 

So now I'm sitting outside of the surgery center with my laptop, my books, my sermon prep, and a little music in my earbuds and I'm feeling pretty good.  I was able to make a donation drop at The Connecting Grounds Outreach Center and am now just passing time while waiting for my new friend's surgery to finish so that I can transport him back. 

In a world where winning, taking, and getting more is what we teach and often strive for, it is a little weird that giving actually feels so much better than getting.

John

School Days

Here in SWMO school is back in session.
The college students have moved into their dorms and the local schools begin this week (mostly tomorrow). Teachers have been preparing for their students and students are probably split between those looking forward to the school year and those that wish the summer break would continue.
Maybe the teachers are also split along those lines.

Over the years there have been a number of times when I've thought about going back to school. I like learning new stuff and could probably use some routine in my life. It's too bad there is such a cost that is attached to learning, especially when it's just learning for the sake of knowledge and not to have a money making career or anything. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up--other than retired!

I guess I'll stick to reading for learning. I may now qualify (62) for some of the free to seniors courses offered by many universities, but I think you have to go and be around people for stuff like that. I'll probably just tend to my yard and grow some flowers.

But do be careful out there. There are kids waiting for busses, walking near schools, and lots of young drivers around high schools. 

John

It's Friday

On any other week, Friday is just another day to a retired guy. Today is a little bit different for me.
This week, it's Friday.

I spent a few hours working on my message for Sunday on Wednesday morning, and an hour or so yesterday. I need to finish it up today. I figure I'm about half way there. 
Because it has been a while. I'm going old school (for me) and pretty much typing it out in manuscript form. That probably won't be the way I deliver it, but it works to keep me on track. 
I'm a little surprised at how uncomfortable this all feels. Maybe it will be better once I've finished the prep work. It will definitely feel better when it's over.

If you are a local and care to attend, I'll be at Sparta Christian Church at 11.
Time to get to work!

John

Not on my 2022 BINGO card

Preaching

And yet, here I am trying to figure out a sermon for next Sunday.

So many times I have told simple stories from the Bible and shared the lessons they have taught me. It's tempting to teach something that is simple and familiar. It's also compelling to share the things I have learned in the past few years and am still learning, but that is going to take more work, more time, and more focus.
Right now I'm thinking that it will probably be a combination of a familiar story with new lessons. I'm always amazed at how often that happens with reading the stories of the Bible. The lessons seem to speak to fit the situations we find ourselves in.

According to Peter Enns in his book How the Bible Actually Works, that is how the Bible actually works! He teaches that the Bible is an ancient, ambiguous, and diverse book that leads us to wisdom rather than answers.
On the one hand, it's not very encouraging to the person that wants to use the Bible as an answer book that spells everything out in black and white. But it is pretty cool for the person that wants to connect with God and find wisdom rather than answers.

I think that my greatest struggle this week might just be in finding the focus to prepare an organized message. It has been a while since I've done this. I've been struggling just to organize my thoughts enough to type out a coherent blog post!

If you are the praying type and are willing to use your prayer time to speak to God on my behalf, I could certainly use some divine influence and wisdom this week.

Hmmm...

John

God's Messenger

If God were to send a messenger to Earth today, what would the messenger look like and what would God's message be?

Would the messenger be male, female, or even someone non-binary?
What nationality would the messenger be?
Would the messenger have a position of social status?
Would the messenger be well educated?
Would the messenger be powerful?
Would the messenger be wealthy?

What would a messenger to 7+ billion people look like?
What would the message be?
And would anybody really listen?

Maybe God would just assume a virtual identity and broadcast the message via the internet. 
Or maybe God has decided that the simple "love your neighbor" message is enough and we are too far gone to receive a next step kind of message.

Just thoughts in my head this morning.
What are you thinking about?

John 

Books

What are you reading?
I just finished the book The Measure by Nikki Erlick. 
It's a pretty good book and reaches into many different facets of life.

It covers some of the deep philosophical questions of life as well as touching on how we deal with oppression, injustice, discrimination, power, and yes--love. 
While the Bible says that the days of man are numbered, it doesn't tell us the number of days in each individual life. What if it did?

Would you want to know when you are going to die?
And how would that change how you live?

Those are the two questions presented in the book The Measure.
On the 22nd birthday, every person in the world mysteriously receives a box. Inside the box is a string that indicates the length of their life. Would you open it?

I can see this book as a great read for a book club. Getting together to discuss the choices made by the characters in the book, as well as the choices made by governments and society, would make for an interesting exchange of thoughts and ideas. 

It was recommended to me by a friend, and I am going to pass the recommendation on to you. It's a little weird that the book is both uplifting and a little depressing. At times it gives me hope in humanity and at other times it displays the lowest character of our species. 
And while the author has an impressive writing background, this is her debut novel.
Well done, Ms. Erlick! 
Well done.

John 

PS: I used the read for free option--my local library!

Morning Thoughts from the Deck

You may have noticed that I haven't written for quite some time. I'm still here. I just haven't felt the need to write anything lately.

I think we are through with our stretch of hot, dry weather for a while. We've managed to get a little rain here in the past week and I mowed the yard for the first time in over a month. I made a perimeter run of the field and decided that it can wait another week or so before I mow it.
I kind of gave up on the regular watering of the garden and it shows in the burnt up vegetation. It's about the right time for a fall garden. I may do that. I may not.

I put out a couple of hummingbird feeders and have been enjoying watching the little hummers. They are pretty entertaining. 
My new seed feeders aren't getting much attention, though. 

Tending to the flowers, feeding and watching the birds, and just sitting on the deck is a pretty good life. 
Recognizing that I don't need to add to the noise of the world by sharing everything that pops into my head is also nice. 

Out of My Hat is a little over 16 years old. Although I don't plan to shut it down, I do think I'll be spending less time writing unless I can find a way to use the interwebs to bring people together. There seems to be so much bullshit here these days and I'm tired of having to sift through it. I imagine you are, too.
I'm also going to be posting a little less on other social media outlets and really trying to spend less time scrolling through them. I am finding it to be mildly entertaining, but mostly a little depressing at how poorly informed and increasingly judgmental we have become.

I am amazed at how much attention some people seek with their Tik Tok and IG reels and stories. And I am amused by the wisdom of the 25-30 year olds that have all of life figured out and can point out how to live life to the fullest. As one meme put it: "Oh to have the confidence of a 25 year old life coach!"
I suppose I was just as cocky and arrogant at that age. Maybe every generation has to learn life's lessons for themselves. 
At 25, I thought I knew everything. 
At 62, I'm amazed at how much I was wrong about and how much there is to learn.
sigh

John