A Day Like Any Other

Okay, so it's not exactly like any other day. It is Election Day in the United States.

But for the most part...
It's morning coffee on the sunny (but cool) deck.
I'm doing the daily blog thing and listening to some morning news.
I'll do a little internet surfing and maybe a little devotional reading.
After a little morning exercise (emphasis on little), I'll head out to do the volunteer chaplain thing at Mercy Hospital in Aurora.
I cast my ballot last week, so today will be pretty much like every other day.

I imagine that I'll be watching news coverage tonight -- which is not like any other day.

Tomorrow morning I expect to have my coffee on a sunny, but cool deck. I'll do the daily blogging thing and listen to some morning news. I'll do a little internet surfing and a little devotional reading, etc., etc.

I don't want to minimize the impact of today's election.
Neither do I want to pretend that there will not be some negative (possibly violent) reaction to the results from today's election. 
But regardless of the presidential winner and the legislative winners, The United States will continue on. The peaceful transfer (or continuation) of power is a hallmark of the US. In spite of words that have been spoken to the contrary, the people of the US still speak and our voices will still be heard and recognized. We may witness a child-like tantrum. There may not be a cordial letter left in the Resolute Desk, but there will be a transfer of power if that's the way the election goes. 

If you have followed me for very long or know my heart and character, you know how I voted and what my hopes are for this country. You also know that next week, next month, next year will find me still looking for ways to serve during the pandemic, smoking an occasional cigar, and working on making my little corner of the world a welcome place for anyone that drops in. 
If you will work on your little corner of the world in a similar manner, we can make that welcome feeling available to more people in more places around the globe. 

If you are a reader in the US, my hope for you today is peace.
If you are a friend in another country, my hope for you is peace.
And for all of you -- I wish you love.

John 

 

A Place of Peace

I'm spending the day at The Venues Battlefield location. The church building is open to allow people a place of sanctuary and peace, as well as a place to come and pray as we head into election day. I know that the staff has primarily been working from home, and the staff that is here has work to do. I figured that being here is a small way to help. 

I have my laptop, my phone, a charger that works for both, and my coffee. I'm pretty much set.

I was listening to NPR on the drive into Springfield this morning. They were talking about stress -- stress caused by the election, stress caused by the pandemic, stress that is a part of normal, everyday life -- and the terrible ways it can affect our health. 
Apparently, Google searches for "insomnia" are way up over the past few months. Not surprising is that they peak at around 3am. Disrupted sleep is one of the chief side effects of stress. A companion side effect is that we have to deal with people that don't get enough sleep.

Westerners aren't very skilled at meditation. Maybe it's part of the reason we lead the world in stress related health issues. Maybe it's a part of the reason we have so many wars and conflicts. It might help if we all had a nice nap every afternoon -- a world wide siesta.

I hope that you are able to find a place of peace today. If you are in the Springfield MO area and need a quiet refuge, feel free to drop in before 3pm. Your place of peace might be a nature walk, a back porch, a quiet moment at the kitchen table. Just find a place and a time to give your spirit a moment of rest; a moment of peace.

John

NaBloPoMo

NaBloPoMo -- National Blog Posting Month begins today. Bloggers are encouraged to write a post for every day of the month of November. A few bloggers do post every day, but it seems that they are becoming pretty rare (at least in my blogging circle). I've participated in NaBloPoMo for several years, and will do so again this year. I may end up with several two-fers on days that I post Monday Motivation or Wednesday Wisdom memes, or I may just let the memes serve as my daily post. I would like to write more often. I just don't feel very motivated to do it on most mornings.

November seems to draw a lot of attention. It is also National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) where writers are encouraged to begin/finish/work on a novel everyday. It is Movember -- where men are encouraged to grow moustaches to raise awareness of men's health issues like prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's suicide.
Hmmm...Maybe I should just grow a moustache and forget the daily blogging thing.
Or I could write a few posts about men's health and actually go the doctor for a check-up. I suppose I could do both. Even doing both would be way easier than writing a novel.

In the US, November brings Election Day and Thanksgiving. Globally, it brings the Christmas shopping season. I'm envious of my southern hemisphere friends and family that are in their spring while we endure the cooling of autumn and head towards winter.
Ah, well -- life goes on.

Happy November!
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

Boldly Leaping Into the 20th Century

Tomorrow morning we will take the leap into the 20th century as we will finally have a rural internet service installed.  We've been paying a little extra to be able to hot spot our phones to use our laptops and tablets, but it will be nice to actually have internet to be able to access the full range of options for TV programing, video streaming, etc.

Rural internet options are limited and expensive, especially if you have high internet needs or use real time online gaming. Fortunately, we have neither of those and will be satisfied with a lower cost satellite server. Even so, internet for a couple of low tech retired folks shouldn't cost this much. Families with kids in school or that run small businesses from home (or small rural businesses) should have affordable access to the information (or often misinformation) super highway. For us, it's a part of the trade-off for fewer neighbors, quiet nights, and starry skies. For others it is forced isolation due to low income or poverty.

I am looking forward to being able to better use my outdoor TV, as well as being able to stream videos and shows to our indoor sets. I probably shouldn't be as excited as I am to be rejoining the connected world, but there's a little low tech kid in me that thinks it's cool.
It's funny when you realize that I'm typing on a Bluetooth keyboard that's connected to an old, broken 2 in 1 Windows laptop/tablet (keyboard doesn't work) that's mounted in a cheap old folder (using Velcro) from an even older and cheaper android tablet knock-off. I'm pretty much the epitome of an old guy trying to be cool in the techie world but falling way short!

sigh

At least I'm okay with it. I am actually happy that I don't feel the need to always be connected. I could manage well without my Words with Friends 2 habit on my smarter than I am android phone. I doubt that I'd experience withdrawal symptoms if Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter crashed simultaneously. Nor do I think that the world would miss one more political post or cigar pic from yours truly.

Perhaps all of our connectedness is just a poor substitution for building actual relationships with one another.
Hmmm...maybe there are things from the past that are worth holding on to after all.

John

Monday Motivation -- VOTE

It is just eight days until election day!
Already, nearly sixty million voters have cast their ballots with democrats outnumbering republicans nearly 2 to 1 in early voting. Chris and I voted last week.

If you live in Southwest MO and need a ride to the polls on Tuesday, let me know. I am available to help.
If you know of someone that needs a way to vote, help them out if you can.
VOTE!

I'm pretty certain that Missouri will cast its collective electoral votes for Trump. It is red enough that we haven't endured political rallies or ads in great number from either party.
The days that follow November 3rd will be interesting. As much bluster as there has been from the fringe right, I really don't anticipate an armed uprising if Trump loses. I do acknowledge the possibility of protests and pockets of violence from demonstrators on either side should their candidate lose, but am hopeful that the vast majority of Americans will be accepting of the vote. 

Either way, Wednesday morning will come, people will go to work, school, etc., and life will go on.

My Monday Motivational encouragement for this week is just a simple reminder to guard your peace in this coming week.

 

Choose your battles wisely.

John

Guilty Pleasures

What are your guilty pleasures -- those things that are nothing more than unnecessary indulgences?
They can be food, drink, apparel, activities, etc.

Three of mine are cigars, bourbon, and UFC fights.

Yours?

John 

Morning After Reflections

It's early on Friday morning and I've been reflecting on last night's message. Admittedly, I'm probably my own worst critic. I know that I was never a very typical Baptist preacher, but at The Venues I feel very much like a Baptist preacher.
I am always impressed by the teaching of Pastors Phillip and Ben. I know the time that they put into their messages -- both in biblical study and in searching for contemporary quotes, memes, writings, and applications.

I just tell stories.

And I would probably rather tell you a story or just have a one on one conversation than a one-sided monolog to a group. There is no timely feedback when preaching - no questions, no clarifications, and often times there isn't even the ability to see facial expressions or postures due to lighting. I worry about clearly communicating my thoughts and feelings. Maybe I should use more notes to help me stay on course. 

I greatly appreciate the after message feedback from my Venues people -- more so than I have from church people in the past. There seems to be a more genuine attitude at barchurch where people feel like they can be themselves and free from judgment.
In the end, I think I'll accept that and rest ... until called on again.

Be well.
Tell your story.
Demonstrate your faith.
Share God's love.

John 

Twofer Tuesday

Just a quick little note for this afternoon.
I had my first magic show since about this time last year. The program was booked last fall/winter for a senior adult group at a local Church of the Nazarene. Due to the pandemic, this was the first time the group met since last March. 

Instead of their normal potluck style luncheon, they had catered box lunches with ham, turkey, or roast beef sandwiches, fruit, chips, and bottled water. Tables were well spaced and only sat four people to round tables that would normally seat twice that. Everyone wore masks except while seated at their tables.

Senior adults are a great magic audience. They are as easily entertained as kids and generally better behaved! I had a good time -- and I think they did, too!

Now to prepare for Thursday night's barchurch message!

John 

Daily Devotions

I'm curious.
How many of you have a daily (or at least regular) type of devotional reading that you use?
It doesn't have to be a religious reading. It can also be inspirational, motivational, or educational.
I have an intellectual devotional that covers seven different fields of knowledge in rotating fashion for 365 days. (I'd be a lot smarter if I actually read it daily.)

I've never been disciplined enough to stay with a daily devotion for very long. Or maybe I've never had a daily program that was interesting or inspiring enough to keep my attention.
What do you (or would you) look for in a daily devotion?
Something for meditation and contemplation?
Something for inspiration?
Something enlightening and informative?
Something else?

Seriously, leave a comment.
I'm interested in what keeps people coming back day after day.

John