Good Friday

I'm sitting outside of an Ozark coffee shop this morning, sipping an Ethiopian drip and hearing (but not really listening to) the traffic at a steadily busy intersection near Hwy 65. I am feeling a little weird about not having any real feelings nor emotions about it being Good Friday.

I can't say that I was ever heavily invested in emotions or feelings around Good Friday. However, there was always an awareness that it is a special day in Christianity. I don't have that same feeling about it anymore. Neither do I feel a great importance towards Easter or even Christmas.
The more I look at the life and the teachings of Jesus, the less likely I am to worship Jesus as God or as a god, and the more likely I am to become suspicious of religion and all of its trappings -- like Christmas and Easter.
I honestly don't think that Jesus would have wanted it this way.

I don't believe that Jesus ever wanted his life and teachings to be used to control and manipulate others. I do believe that his teachings are to change us and individuals and as a collective society. 
The -- remove the plank in your own eye before helping your brother with the speck in their eye -- is a pretty big clue that it's about fixing ourselves and not others.
And yet nearly all of Christianity is focused on the sins of everyone else and controlling/motivating people based on the fear of what fiery hell awaits those that don't bow down and worship an angry god.
On the one hand we have Sunday school stories about three Hebrew boys that stand up to an evil king that insists everybody bows to his statue or get thrown into the fiery furnace and on the other hand we a (supposedly) good God that does the exact same thing.

Religion isn't just weird.
It's totally effed up.

Whether you celebrate the weekend as the death and resurrection of Jesus or you're just in it for the candy -- I hope you have a good weekend.
And we can all make it a good Friday -- just by being kind to one another.

John

Good Friday

It's Friday of a long, hard week.
Tell me something good!

Mexico is wrapping up the winter league baseball season and the Charros of Guadalajara are in the finals! Aaron and I will be making the trip to see tonight's game three with the seven game series tied at 1-1. All three of the games in Guadalajara are sold out, so we were lucky to get tickets. We'll spend the night at an Airbnb and return to Puerto Vallarta in the morning. 
It's been awhile since Aaron and I have been to a baseball game together and I am looking forward to it. 

In addition to enjoying my time here in PV, I have my implant (dental) surgery scheduled for 2/5. 
It's pretty crazy that I can pay for the implants and the two round trip airfares for less than the cost of implants (same manufacturer) in the US with my insurance. If the cost of dental implants is keeping you from getting them and you are interested in a little medical tourism trip, let me know and I'll put you in touch with my dentista.

Tell me something good.

John

Good Friday!

Let's make today a Good Friday!
Tell me something good!

Good for me is a very small thing --
The bulbs and seeds I just planted are growing!
We're still quite a bit away from actual flowers, but it is exciting to see the growth and imagine the beauty of the colors that are coming. 

Another small thing that makes me happy --
It's summer!
Yeah, I know it's hot. But seriously, having AC at home and having most places that I need to go to air conditioned really takes away the heat argument for me.
A little shade, a breeze from a ceiling fan, a cool drink, and a pleasant view from the deck and I am a happy boy.

Tell me --
What's good in your world?

John 

Friday Morning at Mudhouse

I decided to venture out to the local (Ozark) Mudhouse coffee shop for this morning's coffee. I have a library book and a half charged Chromebook that is connected to my phone's hotspot. The local wifi wasn't connecting well and it's probably better using my own hotspot anyway.

It would appear (as in magically) that I've let myself be talked into a magic gig for the kids at church. The date is yet to be set, but I'm pretty sure it's happening. Time to dig out the old stuff and work on a kids' show.
Sacrebleu!

Magic has been a fun hobby in the past. After leaving the evangelical world I haven't really had a venue for performing and so I have let those skills and my fondness for performing fade away. It's time to start practicing again, at least for this one gig. I am not up to the marketing and promoting that would be necessary to get the paying gigs again. If I were to re-enter the field in any way, it would likely be through doing school programs around science and math stuff, or using some of the making good choices stuff I've used in the past.

For now it is still a couple of months away and I can plan something simple and entertaining without having to do the whole evangelical thing. 
(heavy sigh)

I'm not sure if this qualifies as something good or not, but that is what is going on in my world this morning. Tell me something good that is going on in your world.
Let's make it a Good Friday!

John 

Good Friday!

Hey! Let's make it a Good Friday!
Tell me something good!

I am going to meet a friend for lunch today. I am looking forward to this. Time spent with this guy is always so energizing and informative. We will each bring a sandwich or lunch to a local brewery (that doesn't serve food) and then spend a couple of hours visiting and catching up on life or sharing thoughts. 

It's my third lunch meeting of the week, which is highly unusual.
Monday was a long overdue lunch with another friend (yes, I have two), and yesterday was a volunteer chaplain lunch meeting at Mercy Hospital in Aurora.
Last night was barchurch, so I'm pretty maxed out on people exposure, but today is different. Time with this friend is more energizing and uplifting than time spent with most people.
As I said -- I am looking forward to this.

What's good in your world?

John

Good Friday!

Tell me something good!
Please!

I've been scrolling through my social media feeds and reading the news, so I am in need of some good news. Part of my good news comes from simply making the choice to quit reading so much bullshit and moving on to something else.
Something else for me is going to be moving up to the pool and enjoying the pool and the sunshine before the day is too hot to enjoy. 

So, what do you have for me?
Something good you've done or are doing
Something good that has been done to you or for you
Something good that you've heard or read about

Let's share some good news!

John

Tell me something good -- please!

How about some good news for this Friday?

I've been scrolling through news feeds this morning and it is pretty depressing and frustrating. I could use something good to read about.

I did kind of a big deal for me this week -- I bought a Red Access membership for the Springfield Cardinals baseball team. That gets me ten ticketed seats plus general admission (GA) access to every home game this season. I went to the game this past Wednesday when Waino had a rehab start. I do enjoy going to day games in Springfield. They have back-to-back day games scheduled for the first week in May and I'll probably go to both of them.

Although I am not a big fan of crowds and there are always people that are jerks, the stadium isn't a bad way to spend an afternoon or evening, and I really don't mind going to the game by myself. I may need to scout around to find the ideal GA place for game viewing. Typically I use the benches that line the wall behind the home plate seats. In any case, I am looking forward to watching some baseball this summer.

What's your good news for this Friday?

John

Good Friday -- Tell me something good!

It's Good Friday
...and while I appreciate the cross and its many meanings for the day, truly what good is it if we live in misery and negativity in our everyday lives.

So...
in a more humanist/secular approach -- Tell me something good! 

I'll go first.
I got to see my mom and older sister this week.
I picked up my mom from Central Illinois and brought her to SWMO where my sister came to get her to spend Easter in OKC. We'll reverse the trip next week.
I always enjoy time with my family.

It's your turn.
What's good?

John

It's a Good Friday!

This bow in the fog above the bay is what I am looking at from the kids' front porch in Puerto Vallarta this morning. It has gotten a bit brighter as the sun makes its way over the mountains behind me. 

Because it is summer in the tropics (that means the rainy season), it is hot and humid here. It took me just over an hour to go from touchdown at the airport to in the pool at the kids' condo when we arrived yesterday. I imagine it is where I'll spend most of today. 
I took a short walk into the city and picked up a few Mexican cigars, plus we all went into the downtown area for dinner later. I'm guessing that I was well above 10,000 steps, but decided that I don't need to wear my watch most of the time I'm here. In fact, I don't even know why I wear it at all anymore.
Sure it is a little more convenient than digging out my phone to check the time, but I really don't use it to count steps much anymore. Maybe I should.
Or maybe I should dig out one of my more traditional watches, drop a new battery in it, and wear that as a watch. Although I do believe that wristwatches are a good looking, functional accessory for men, I've rarely worn one since I started carrying a cell phone. 

Enough about accessorizing!
I'm looking at the ocean this morning!
Tell me what's good in your world--something you've done, something someone has done for you.

It's been said that it isn't the things you say or do that people will remember about you, but the way you made them feel. Will you give somebody a good memory today?

John


 

Where would you go if you had nowhere to go?

It's 2:30am and I'm chillin' at the overnight cold weather shelter while a number of guys are sleeping on cots, with a thin pillow, and covered by thin hospital blankets. One man just arrived having been dropped off after finishing his work shift at an all night diner. It's 10f (-12c) and will still drop a few degrees before morning.

The population of Springfield MO is around 168,000 (2019). Local agencies that keep track of the people that utilize services for the unsheltered community currently have 933 people listed by name. It is estimated that an additional 1000 people are couch surfing with friends or relatives during this recent extreme weather. Although they have a warm place to sleep tonight, they are literally a fight over dirty dishes or leaving the toilet seat up from finding themselves without shelter for tonight.  

The city itself has done little in the way of helping or offering shelter. If fact, even during the very heart of winter, the city has been removing tent encampments and forcing people to find other ways to stay warm. There has been some recent movement with some funds (far too few for a city this size) that have been released to help the situation. Unfortunately, government oversight of the monies pretty much ensures that it won't be used in the most beneficial ways.  

Where would you go if you didn't have shelter for tonight?
If you could only have what you can carry with you, how would you stay warm tonight?
Where would you go for something to eat or drink? How long would your money last?
Then what?

I've got to tell you, before we started volunteering last winter, I wouldn't have had a clue. In fact, the homeless of our community were pretty invisible to me. Having worked with them, talked with them, listened to their stories -- it's been a real eye opening experience. 
I remember working at an evening warming center last winter when the overnight forecast was around 20f (-7c). One of the guys was asking if we had an extra sleeping bag available. When asked why he wasn't going to the shelter, he said that he had just started a new job and was afraid that if he went to the shelter (it was on the far edge of the city) he would be late for work and lose his job. The dude would rather sleep outside in below freezing temps than risk being late for work! A few phone calls and a couple of bus passes and we were able to get him out of the shelter early and on a bus that would get him to work.
A number of our guests have jobs. Some have cars that they often sleep in. Some are trying to save enough money for the deposit and first month's rent so they can have a place to live. There are a number of them that deal with varying types of mental illnesses that keep them from holding jobs and the system for treating them is sorely lacking in anything that is truly helpful. 

I can't begin to express just how thankful I am for the few churches that have really stepped up this winter. I want to emphasize that there really are only a few. Apparently helping people that can in no way add to your offering plate is against the religion of most churches in the so called bible belt. 
But for those that do serve and the volunteers that fill the food pantries and meet the needs of our city's most vulnerable people -- these are the people that give me hope that there is something redeemable about the human race. 

And those redeeming qualities are also found throughout the homeless population.
One night, an hour or so after we started serving dinner, two men came in. One of them was pretty young and had apparently just been kicked out of wherever he had been staying. He was brand new to the street. The other one asked me if there was anything left for his friend to eat because he hadn't had anything to eat all day and didn't have any idea where to go.  I told him I thought we had enough for both of them and started to take them back to the serving table. He was pretty insistent that I take care of his friend first. As it turned out, he hadn't had anything to eat all day, either. This was the meal he was counting on, but was willing to give it up to make sure the new guy got fed.

There are some great humanitarian stories out there. While Texas republicans are playing the blame game, their arch enemy (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) has raised over $1 million in direct relief funds for Texas -- in less than one day! Just people helping people, right?

What have you got? 
It's Friday. Tell me a good story. Make me proud of our humanity. 

John 

TGIF

We made it to Friday!
Yeah, I know it's not supposed to be a big deal to a retired guy, but somehow it seems to be important that we survived the first week of 2021. 

In most ways, Week 1 of '21 seemed pretty much like the shitstorm that was 2020. 
Nearly 25,000 Covid-19 deaths in the US, but the political chaos and childish president still dominate the news. From the Georgia runoff to the electoral certification to the insurrection at the capitol, the news media has had its hands full and (along with our politicians) forgotten that people are dying out here.

As you can see, I still haven't made it out of my current depressive funk.
So...how about a little help?
Make it a Good Friday!
Tell me something good.
And none of that political BS like Biden will be president in 12 days or pandemic stuff like we've got a vaccine now. Give some good, personal, this is my life kind of stories.

Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to lift my spirit; to restore my faith in humanity.
It's quite a task, I know. However, I am counting on your collective efforts to succeed.

Tell me something good!
Please.

John

 

Frosty Friday

It's a frosty Friday here in the Ozarks. I just turned off the fireplace after it brought the house temperature up to a balmy 67f (19.4c). Coffee and computer at the kitchen island counter this morning.

I'm looking for something to make me feel good on this Friday the 13th. What have you got?
A good story of something nice that happened to you? A story of how you helped someone else? Some plans or activity that you're looking forward to? A good meal that you fixed?

What is making you feel good today?
Share your joy with the rest of us!

John

Feel Good Friday

It seems like there is a lot of stress in the world today and we all know that stress causes a ton of physical problems for us. People have a lot of different ways of coping with stress -- some good and effective, some not so good. There's deep breathing, physical exercise, overeating, binge watching tv, withdrawing from society, pausing to pray, and a plethora of other things. 

As election season in the US draws to a close, what are your go-to ways of dealing with stress?
Are you able to find a place of peace in the chaos of day-to-day life?
How do you find good feelings in stressful times?

I'd offer these two coping methods. They are both simple, but most people do not do them well. Like most things, doing them well requires practice. 
The first is breathing -- not just breathing for oxygen, but focused, purposeful breathing that calms and focuses our thoughts and our whole being. Though I am not an expert by any means, I am able to slow my heart rate, lower my blood pressure, and calm my physical body and emotional being with practiced breathing.
The second thing is rest. I really believe that most westerners suck at resting. I think we have been conditioned to believe that one has to be constantly moving and progressing to be successful and we have been taught that pausing to rest is somehow a bad thing. Every time saving tool or process has been used to be able to do more rather than to be able to rest more. Resting well takes practice. Breathing well helps.

How do you deal with stress?
No judgment please. I realize that not all methods are good methods. If eating a bag of chips or smoking a cigar is your thing, feel free to share that. 
Maybe hugging is your thing and now you feel that your go-to stress reliever has been pandemic restricted. Sacrebleu!
Maybe posting pointless rants helps you.
Maybe reading pointless rants helps you.

Well...?
Leave a comment and share your thing.

John

Good Friday!

Let's make it a Good Friday!

Tell me something good that's happening in your world.

And ... GO!

John

Good Friday!

It's Friday!
Tell me something good that's happening in your life.

For me -- I just got assigned my first scheduled rotation as a volunteer chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Aurora MO.

Now it's your turn...

John

It's Good Friday!

Tell me something good!

I've had a pretty good week (don't I always?).
We are slowly adapting to life in a small apartment. The walking trail is a nice amenity.
I had a very enjoyable breakfast with an old pastor/evangelist friend and a great lunch interview with another pastor friend about working as a volunteer chaplain for Mercy Hospitals.
An interesting side note to my chaplaincy meeting -- I left there to visit and pray with a member of our Venues community that was going into surgery. I was answering a call as part of our pastoral care team.

And ...
We have basement walls poured so construction can get started!

What's good in your world?

John <><

Jan 19; TGIF

Thank God it's Friday!

Okay, the truth is that Friday isn't such a big deal in the life of a retired guy, but this weekend promises a break in the colder weather and temperatures around 60f (15c)! The snow should be gone by midday tomorrow and I may have to take the bike out for a ride.

Today's post is to bring you a moment of hope. I realize that there is little (if anything) that I can do to bring hope into your day/weekend/life. That's kind of an inside job. Perhaps I can encourage you to pause from the daily grind long enough to look around and find something positive in the day. Perhaps saying it, writing it, sharing it with someone will make it more real for you and encourage someone else at the same time.

From time to time, one of my brothers posts something on Facebook encouraging his friends to "tell me something good" that is going on in their lives.
This week's photo prompt in my Project 52 group is Hope.
This morning one of the Instagram accounts I follow posted a morning ocean/sky picture and reminded her followers that each day is a fresh start and asked what we are doing today to grow.

The big deal isn't that it's Friday.
The big deal is that is a new day.

I'm going to enjoy another cup of coffee while listening to some classic rock and then go out for my daily 3 mile (5k) walk.

What is going on in your day?
Tell me something good.
How are you growing today?
What have you accomplished this week?
Who loves you?
Who are the people that you love?

Speak up and be an encouragement to my other readers (both of them!).

God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

John <><

My week 3, Project 52 post.

Hope

There is an ancient proverb that says the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
Last fall we were sitting outside at an Italian restaurant on The Hill is St Louis. My wife commented on the magnolia tree across the street and how she would love to have one. This little magnolia tree was her Christmas present from my son and daughter in law.
Hoping to get to see it in 20 years!

Good Friday Devotional Haiku

Jesus, the suffering servant.
From the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, ESV.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4  Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.

The innocent one
Was pierced for our transgressions
And so, we are healed

John <><

Simple Pleasures

I'm not much of a host.
Chris does a pretty good job as a hostess, but gets a little stressed over things like the house being clean enough (it never is), the grass being cut, everything being perfect -- to really enjoy having people over.

Last night we invited some friends over for a simple meal.
The house was just cleaned on Wednesday and I was taking care of meal prep and clean up.
There was a minor incident of knocking a jar of salsa out of the refrigerator right before guests arrived that upped the stress level (glass and salsa all over the clean kitchen floor), but we managed most of the clean up in time and were just finishing up as they arrived.

The time really sailed by quickly!
It had been a long time since we have had the chance to visit and much has been happening in each of our lives that the conversation never lagged.

Maybe we need to do this kind of thing more often.

I'll be open about my fears of hosting people. Most of them have to do with my anti-social, introverted tendencies.

Although I want things to go smoothly and for the food to turn out well, I don't really worry about that kind of stuff. There are other things that stress an introvert.
In my head ('cause I'd never say it out loud) I'm wondering how long they are going to stay and if we going to have to play games or something.
With one couple (like last night), things are pretty easy. When you have a larger group, people tend to break into several smaller conversations and (if I'm the host) I feel like I need to make sure that everyone is engaged and nobody is left out.
I don't really enjoy small talk. I can engage in it and feel comfortable with most any subject, I just can't say that I really enjoy it.

Our company last night was easy.
The couple relationship is a little different in that I worked with the woman in the other couple and we became friends over the many years of working together. Even though we had met each other's spouses, we never really did anything together as couples until after we retired. Neither of us was much for socializing with co-workers before we retired (me, much less than her). She gets along well with Chris and I get along well with her husband. Both are easy to talk to, but we do stay away from politics. In spite of having much in common on many core values, our political views are quite different.
There was plenty to talk about with our kids and health issues and just catching up on life.
The night went by way too fast and they were called away a little early.

I'm calling it a good night and sharing this as a Good Friday post.
What is something good in your world?

John <><

Another thought:
Maybe I need to brush up on my people skills a bit and have people over more often.
Eh ... maybe not.
We'll see.

Another Good Friday!

Tell me something good!

Wednesday was our first trip to the chemo therapy treatment center for Chris' treatment.
It was a little overwhelming.
I suppose that one gets used to the large room, filled with patients and their family or friends that accompany them, but for a first timer, that only adds to the stress.

This post isn't to bore you with the details of our day, but to talk about the staff at the cancer treatment center.
They were so upbeat and encouraging to everyone there!

I think that it would be difficult to work in a place where everybody that you serve is fighting for their life -- and not all of them are winning. It would be so easy to become very clinical about your work and disengage from the patients as people.
But it wasn't like that. They were friendly and went about their tasks with both efficiency and encouragement. We were fortunate that there was a nursing student there for the day that used to work with Chris. She stopped by a couple of times to talk to Chris, spent a few minutes of her lunch break with us and came around to say good-bye and wish her well before she left for the day.

There is one young woman that works just to see to the non-medical needs of the patients. She gets blankets, pillows, soft drinks, coffee, snacks -- whatever they might need. She has an infectious smile and moves about the room making sure that everyone is comfortable. She is even pretty quick with the barf bucket when that is what's needed (yeah, we got to see that, too).

So this Good Friday shout out is to the entire staff at the Hulston Cancer Center in Springfield MO.
Thank you for your kindness and encouragement to people that are facing the battle of their lives. You manage to maintain your professional service with a very personal touch.
Good on you!

Hey! What's good in your world?

John <><