Disney isn't in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

The mission statement for The Walt Disney Company. reads, in part, "to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information."

On the surface that sounds generically harmless enough.

But I find it interesting that The Disney Company included both entertainment and information in its mission.

That motivates me to go a bit deeper to see what the descendants of Walt Disney (whose photo is at the top of this blog) are up to these days.

I took a trial spin by checking out the Disney Channel on-line. Among the entertainment choices, there were several television programs. I've watched episodes of a few. Enough to say that many of them feature children who, magically, seem to know more that the adults around them. 

Routinely the children in these shows talk back to, ignore or disregard adults. Parents, are especially clueless, or curiously missing from most episodes. They also feature commercials that spotlight Disney products linked to Disney movies. These commercials teach children to be consumers way before they are equipped to make informed shopping decisions. 

What sort of information is this type of programming passing along to children? 

Back in the days of Walt Disney (founder of The Disney Company back in the late 1920s) the company had one main focus, which was cartoon animation and movies. Mr. Disney was at the forefront of his company. A few decades later, with the invention of television, a weekly show was added, hosted by Mr. Disney. More movies came into the mix. Somewhere in the 1950s Disneyland (the original in California) was added, followed by a host of theme parks and resorts around the world.

Fast forward to today and we find that in 2014, The Walt Disney Company had an income exceeding $48 billion dollars. 

While that's great news for investors, I wonder what does this mean for parents and others responsible for consuming Disney products?

Does all of this have a spiritual significance? 

In Western culture, most children spend far more time interacting with media (including television and movies) than they do in spiritual instruction. 

Kids who watch mass amounts of Disney (or any other like-minded) programming are bound to be affected by their kid-centric portrayal of parent-adult-child communication. We can't separate our spirits from our bodies and minds. A child's spirit is influenced by their environment, which includes what they see. 

I'm not saying, by any means, that The Walt Disney Company, or other providers of children's media, are the devil incarnate. But what I am saying is that we should think twice before blindly accepting The Walt Disney Company's mission statement.  

We should ask: What are Disney, and other providers passing along to impressionable children?

Back in the 1960s there was a television program on PBS called Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. It was hosted by Fred Rogers (that's a photo of him in the red sweater). He was passionate about kids' programming and wrote the scripts and music for most of the songs he used. He was also in the field of child development. 

Mr. Rogers testified before Congress at one point in the late 1960s about the importance of providing positive television shows for kids. Most especially he talked about the simple but powerful messages that children can receive from such shows.

I wonder what he would say to us now about the spiritual-emotional significance of The Walt Disney Company, and their peers in children's media?

Photo Credits:
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www.nndb.com

What does the Bible mean to you?

There always has been a wide variety of opinion about the Bible's meaning and significance.

For a long period of time in the Christian Church, it was forbidden for a layperson to even read it. Fortunately, that's no longer the case. But controversy still remains.

Opinions run the range from the Bible is the infallible word of God, to not placing much significance on it at all. And then there has been much cherry-picking from scripture to support particular, personal points of view.

My own opinion is that any opinion regarding what the Bible is, or isn't, is an interpretation. 

Meaning even the point of view that the Bible is the infallible word of God, is an interpretation. However, I'm quick to add that I don't necessarily dismiss this interpretation as false. Only that it can't be proven without resorting to faith.

I can't claim to logically prove my point of view. That's why it's an interpretation, or opinion. However, here's a few things I do know:

There aren't many other books that have held up for thousands of years, under constant scrutiny. Think of all the scholars who have collectively spent hundreds of thousands of hours pouring over different versions of the Bible. Not to mention getting to the meaning of literally every word contained in it.

Some critics point to the variety of writing styles contained within the Bible as evidence that it isn't reliable. I look at the same variety as reflecting the vastness of God. 

The Bible, at its best, is a book of spiritual meaning; not necessarily scientific in its world view. For someone searching for fool-proof evidence, that can be frustrating. But what else should we expect from a book that reflects God's character? God is immense, paradoxical (to us), not to mention infinite. 

Even John writes at the end of his gospel, in speaking about God's Son: "Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21.25)

Given all of the above, it's no wonder that there has been and probably will continue to be controversy over what the Bible is, or isn't, this side of heaven.

Regardless of what we may think of the Bible, our relationship with God should be the more important consideration. 

From that relationship, our understanding of God's word should flow. No matter what we think the Bible is, or isn't.

What do you think? Feel free to share!

Photo Credit: www.globe-views.com

Finding God in the middle of tough times

Sometimes life serves up gut-wrenchingly awful things.

Someone gets critically hurt. Or dies. A messy divorce happens. A new job doesn't pan out. Or you wind up waiting years for a job in your field while working at something that barely puts food on the table.

When these things happen, there is a propensity among followers of God's Son to pull out a scripture that points to the light at the end of the tunnel. 

"Keep going!" "Chin up!" "Don't despair!" "God is for you!"

Yes, it's good to keep going.

Yes, it's probably also a good idea to keep your chin up.

Ditto regarding trying not to despair and remembering that God is for us.

But I don't think that God expects us to deny our feelings. God gave us the ability to feel things for a reason.

A spouse dying should cause deep pain and immense sorrow.

Losing a child to a disease is irrevocably horrible.

Yes, it's important to remain focused on God during these times.

But it's also important to give space and time to feel the hurt behind every tragedy.

Crying because you are experiencing sorrow doesn't make you a second-rate follower of God's Son.

Letting tears of grief freely flow is cleansing and actually part of the healing process.

I have also come to believe that part of that healing process is recognizing that some things are so painful that they leave what I call lifescars.

That is, you never totally get over these awful events in this life. They leave a scar after the healing process. But getting hit in the gut by life doesn't preclude the ability to maintain trust and hope in God.

God wants us to experience loss while we going through it. God does use trials and challenges to build our character. But not at the expense of becoming emotionally distant and cold.

In fact, if we find ourselves in that position, we should consider it a golden opportunity to go to God for emotional help.

There are lots of scriptures that point to how God uses tribulations. In fact, some scriptures even promise that we will experience such things. Those scriptures are there to remind us that God is with us, no matter what. But the Bible doesn't contain any scripture that calls on us to deny feeling pain or sorrow.

Take Job for instance. He went through incredible trails (losing all his wealth, children and health). Through it all Job remained steadfast. But he also went to God with his anguish.

It's actually encouraging to realize that whatever we are going through, just like Job, we are totally free to go to God with it. 

God never discourages direct communication. God is all for it.  God doesn't mind seeing your lifescars one bit. 

Photo Credit: www.escapetoreality.org

No relationship equals no faith

My first experience at real prayer was in the first grade bathroom at St. Philip Catholic School.

The classroom was located in the basement of a very old brick building. The windows opened up to a view of an alley in-between the school and the gym. Not much natural light came through. 

The bathrooms were located across the hall, which was long and dark and cold. There was a room off to the side that sat empty. At one time it might have served as the lunchroom, but now it sat as a living testimony to silence.

I was not an outgoing kid at school and didn't live near any of the other kids in the class. It felt like I was in a school full of strangers.

So, quite often the bathroom breaks the nuns built into the school day caused me to remember that I really didn't want to be in that school. 

One day I was in a stall, sitting on a toilet, and felt overwhelmed. So much so that I couldn't get off the seat and go back to class. I waited until all the other boys had used the bathroom but I still felt stuck. 

Out of no where, I began to pray. 

It was a very simple prayer: "Dear God. I don't want to go back to class. Help me!"

And God did. Almost as soon as that prayer came out of me a sense of relief fell.

I pulled up my pants, got out of the stall, washed my hands and hurried across the hall to rejoin my classmates.

The odd thing is, I don't remember being especially thankful at that moment. I should have been because the response to that prayer was immediate and tangible.

In fact, looking over my life since then, there hasn't been very many other prayer experiences that match up to it.

Not much thought went into that prayer. 

It came from a six year old's desperation. It came from a child's ability to trust and hope that God would somehow help. It was a prayer that was uttered at the very moment that an answer was necessary.

Now that I think about it, I wonder, why don't I have more prayer experiences like that? 

Is it because my expectations have been lowered by an adult's perception of reality? Is it that as the disappointments in life mount up it becomes harder to maintain high levels of faith and the subsequent hope and trust that flow from it?

As we mature does our imagination become divorced from the rest of our brain? Do we all, at some point, graduate to grown-up thinking that substitutes suspicion and skepticism for trust? 

What I've come to realize is that faith is the foundation for trust. I can't have faith in someone that I don't trust. And I can't trust someone that I don't know. It's as simple as that. 

So, the strength of my faith is dependent upon the depth of relationship. 

No or little relationship equals no or little faith. 

What did Jesus say to Peter when he accepted the Son of God's invitation to join him in walking on the water? Peter stepped out of the boat but quickly began to sink. And God's Son looked at him and said, "Oh, you of little faith. Why did you doubt?"

At the moment that Peter took his eyes off God's Son and looked at the waves, the waves became bigger than his relationship. In that moment, the doubt gobbled up Peter's ability to trust.

But, at least Peter had enough of a relationship to call out, "Lord, save me!"

That's what happened with me in the boy's bathroom in first grade. I was sinking fast, but at least I trusted God enough to pray out the exact same thing that Peter did. 

You can too. Any time you need it.

What a relief! 

Photo Credit: www.artoflivingsblog.com

This is the only today we'll have

Today is an absolutely glorious day! The trees are at their peak color and the weather is going to be warm with blue skies. A beautiful autumn day in Michigan.

God has given this day to us.

No matter where we may be living. No matter what our circumstances.

God wants us to realize that.

It may seem trite, or almost insignificant, but it’s the truth and that truth should make all the difference in how we approach today.

This is the only October 23, 2015 we will experience. That’s it. This moment in time is ours as a gift.

I'm remembering how a former coworker and I used to start the morning by praying. And she would often pray out, “Thank you Father for giving us this day, because there are many who didn’t live to see it.”

It’s the truth.

The scripture, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it,” isn’t meant to be a nice-sounding, sentimental statement that sits on a shelf somewhere in the deep recesses of our brain collecting dust. 

It’s a declaration. It’s a statement of faith.

We have to have faith to speak it out. We have to have faith to realize that this day is a gift from God. We have to have faith to make a decision to rejoice in it – regardless of how we may feel. We have to have faith to decide, as an act of worship, to give thanks.

We can’t rejoice in the day if we aren’t mindfully thankful for it.

We can’t rejoice in the day if we aren’t focused on the Creator of the day to begin with.

It all flows from having the right focus. It all flows from having our eyes on the Eternal One. And it helps to realize this faith and the decisions flowing from it don't deny the reality of our current challenges or feelings. We're invited to look past those feelings to hold on to the promises of God.

You may be old enough to remember the hymn with the verse:  “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full into His wonderful face..."

That’s exactly the point. 

As we do what the hymn suggests, then, by God's mercy, "The things (various trials, disappointments and heartbreaks) of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

This isn't to say that it is always easy to do. Or that life is always sweet. 

In fact, a lot of time we are so distracted by the day-to-day business of living that we forget this simple lesson. And often the challenges of life may try to emotionally, physically and spiritually wear us down. 

But staying focused on God, looking "full into His wonderful face," is a key to unlocking a flow of thankfulness and appreciation that will become like a wellspring for our soul.

Photo Credit: www.allaboutgod.net

God hasn't called us to save the world.

Here are 5 things we may need to be reminded of, coming into mid-week:

1. God hasn't called us to save the world.
This may seem counter-intuitive, but it's true. No where in the Gospel, or in the Old Testament for that matter, does God tell us that it's our job to save anything.

The Great Commission is sometimes interpreted to mean that the Son of God asked his followers to save the world. He didn't. What he said was: "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations." (Matt. 28.18).

Notice that God's Son didn't say he gave US all authority. He said HE had been given it. And because of that, he's taken us under his wing. Any authority we have, kingdom-of-God-wise, has been given to us through God's Son, it doesn't initiate with us. That's a huge difference.

2. God is in control.
If the source of all authority is God. Not us.

That means we aren't responsible for conjuring up results. The authority is God's. The results are in God's hands. We are invited to play a part in bringing the kingdom to earth by praying for it to happen and then following whatever God gives us to do. When the Son of God's disciples asked to be taught how to pray, the first thing the Son told them was to honor the Father. The second thing was to pray that the Father's will would be done on earth just as it is being done in heaven.

While  we have a part to play in advancing the kingdom, it's probably a good idea to remember...

3. The kingdom we're called to advance is God's Kingdom, not ours.
When we keep focused on the Creator of the Universe, it takes the focus off of us. 

That may not sound like much, but it's huge. It's all in the eyes. What are you looking at? Who are you turning to for help? Or are you trying to figure it out on your own? If we're continually frustrated with the way things are going, then there's a good chance that the way you're trying to go isn't God's. 

4. God's logic isn't the world's logic.
There's a scripture that talks about God's ways being higher than our ways. 

There's another that says God's thoughts aren't our thoughts. What God seems to be getting at is that our minds aren't big enough to comprehend everything about the kingdom this side of heaven. A perfect example of this is found in the 4th Chapter of Philippians. Paul writes not to be anxious but with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to make our requests known to God. When we do this, we'll experience a peace that surpasses all human understanding.

This kind of peace isn't logical. It's not based on God giving us a supernatural solution to anxiety. It's based on a decision to trust and hope in God in the middle of very challenging situations. The good news is that this kind of peace doesn't have to make sense to be experienced.

5. God doesn't need anything from us except our obedience.
Sometimes we think God actually needs our talents. But if we're thinking along those lines we could be allowing pride to trip us up. Talents were given to us to reflect the Creator and to honor God. We aren't doing the Eternal One any favors by using our talents for egotistical purposes. That's not how love works.

On the other hand, God does desire our obedience, coming from a heart that desires intimacy with God. John wrote that, "Those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him." (1 John 1.5).

If we're in a healthy relationship with God, we'll naturally want to obey out of that sense of love. 

Intimacy is the fruit of love and that fruit is ripened through obedience.

Photo Credit: www.liveholiness.com

Admitting we don't know can actually deepen our faith

I've been reading Amazing Grace, by Kathleen Norris. (That's a photo of her at the top of this post).

It's a collection of short essays, each tackling the "language of Christian religion."

Norris is insightful, provocative and wise in her writing. She has a gift for getting to the heart of the meaning behind words that we use to communicate our Christian faith 

Here's some examples:

Heresy/Apostasy

"There is a certain pride inherent in apostasy, which often manifests itself as a remarkable faith in oneself, as in 'I alone know what is right for me.' Teachers, tradition, the family stories  and the beliefs of the common herd are all suspect; suspicion rather than trust is what defines the apostate. And it defines our age. The individual stands alone, a church of one, convinced that he or she is free of the tyranny of any creed or dogma..."

"If I had to come up with a synonym for apostasy... for the most part, it is simple vanity."

I would think that humility would be the proper response to the incomprehensible vastness of God, not a desire to appear as if we understand God in totality, without anyone's help.

Creeds

"At their best, creeds are simple storytelling. They relate the history of salvation, as understood by Christians... I've horrified people who otherwise demonstrate little regard for the Christian faith, by admitting that I carry my doubts with me into church, particularly my doubts about the creeds..."

"As my own relationship with worship and the creeds began to mature I came to consider that the creeds are a form of speaking in tongues. (When preaching) I usually select the Nicene Creed, because then no one can pretend to know exactly what they're saying. 'God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God.' It gives me great pleasure to hear a church full of respectable people suddenly start to talk like William Blake."

I freely admit that each time we speak the Nicene Creed out loud in my home church, there is always a phrase or two where I stumble over its meaning. That doesn't make me less a Christian, but perhaps a more honest one. 

Admitting we don't understand is often the first step towards deeper faith.

Orthodoxy

"'Orthodoxy first means right worship, and only secondarily doctrinal accuracy.'

"How else could it be, in a religion centered on the incarnation of the divine into a human being? We know, of course, that it can indeed be otherwise. Much of the exasperation with what people term 'organized religion' comes from the fact that the Christian church has often given so much weight to doctrinal accuracy that the life-giving potential of worship, and faith itself, gets lost in the shuffle."

It sometimes boggles my mind to realize the unrecognized dissonance on the part of certain Charismatic thinkers who, on the one hand, insist on a very literal interpretation of the Bible, and on the other, are wide open to the Holy Spirit's soaring miles above it. 

God-Talk

"God-talk is speech that is not of this world, it is a false language. In a religion that celebrates the Incarnation - the joining together of the human and the divine - a spiritualized jargon that does not ground itself in the five senses should be anathema. But the human tendency to dis-incarnate language is a strong one."

"The idolatry of God-talk, like all idolatry, is a symptom of our desire for control."

"If we seek a God that we can 'handle' that will be exactly what we will get. A God we can manipulate, suspiciously, like ourselves, the wideness of whose mercy we've cut down to size."

Since the day Jesus ascended into heaven, followers of God's son have been trying to put him in a box. God's son has already risen from one box (the grave) and I don't think he's too interested in getting into another.

Worship

"Worship requires people with open ears and hearts. At its root, the word 'liturgy' simply means 'the work of the people.'"

I had a pastor once who, speaking of worship, cautioned: "Be sure that your preference doesn't become a prejudice." 

I'm not saying that I necessarily agree with everything that Norris has to say. But I think she's terrifically interesting. 

I admire Norris' courage and her ability to thoughtful tackle what so easily can divide us. 

The Christian religion is, at it's best and most powerful, when we open ourselves up to experience the mystery of a God whose love for us become Incarnate.

What do you think?

Photo Credit: www.kings.uwo.ca

Where do you get your news?

I used to teach Freshman Composition at the college level. 

One of the first things I taught was the difference between a fact, an inference and a judgment.

The textbook I used had a great example. Uncle Joe was smoking a cigar, standing next to a Christmas tree in the living room.

You walk past Uncle Joe, into the dining room where all the other family members are gathered. A  few minutes later you notice smoke coming from the living room. There's a fire. But, thankfully it was caught quickly and only the Christmas tree was damaged.

In the episode's aftermath, family members, all of them having been in the dining room, gather round. They try to make sense of what happened. One says, "I saw Uncle Joe standing next to the Christmas tree, smoking a cigar." (Fact) 

Another person pipes in, "Yes, and his cigar probably lit the tree on fire." (Inference)

To which yet another member of the family concludes, "He shouldn't be allowed to smoke in the house. He's so careless." (Judgment).

Using this example, it's fairly easy to determine where the logic broke down to get to the point of accusing Uncle Joe of being careless.

Note that although we have placed Uncle Joe at the scene of the burning Christmas tree, we don't have anything except circumstantial evidence. The reality is, any number of things could have caused the tree to catch fire. Like exposed wiring along the string of Christmas tree lights.

While the above example may seem easy to follow, most others in real life are not.

A few decades ago, in the United States, there were three nightly television newscasts (ABC, CBS and NBC). And almost every decent-sized town had its own daily newspaper that picked up national and international news from a small number of sources (AP, UPI or one of a few national dailies' services). These daily newspapers offered much more, background detail to offer additional understanding.

As a teenager, I worked in one of those mid-sized city newsrooms. 

My job was to clear the newswires (teletype machines) on a regular basis, sort the stories by content and then drop them off to appropriate copy editors. This was before there were computers.

My point is there were a limited number of news sources for national or international news. So, outside of opinion pieces, there wasn't much diversion in details. And there wasn't much chance of a fact morphing into an opinion (judgment) on the news page.

Fast forward to today and it's a completely different situation. 

There are hundreds of sources for national and international news. There has been a proliferation of broadcast news sources, ranging from ultra-conservative to ultra-liberal. That in itself isn't necessarily a horrible thing. But it does give us the chance to pick and choose our news with an astonishing ability to become increasingly narrow-minded. To the point of never having our news cross-referenced for accuracy. 

It becomes easy to gloss over the difference between fact, inference and judgment and as the competition has greatly increased, news media have become very good at marketing their versions of the events of the day. Commenting on this, in the AARP Bulletin, Ted Koppel lamented: "Too much of the media looks upon their goal as giving the public what it wants."

You would think that Christian news would be immune to this situation. But it isn't.

I've read seemingly solid writing from sources, that, upon second glance, began to show cracks in logic. With the explosion in social media, among bloggers and websites and ministries, it's truly becoming an intellectual minefield, upon which readers need to tread carefully.

What's the solution?

1. Be aware of the source of the information you are reading. Search news archives to see if the sources you are using have a political agenda. (Politically motivated reporting isn't really news reporting, it's opinion-giving, so it's often opining).

2. If you want to grasp a national or international issue, you'll need to spend time getting your information from a variety of solid news sources. (Even to the point of checking to see how other news media, outside of the US, cover a story).

3. Don't rely on television/cable/radio talk show hosts or bloggers as primary news sources. The best/most honest of them freely admit they are not newscasters, only offering their slant on the news.

What do you think? Where do you get your news? 

Does your news source entertain, or inform you? 

Photo Credit: www.youtube.com

5 Things we need to be reminded of!!!

Here's five things I needed to be reminded of today. Maybe you do too:

1. God is in charge.
Abbott (one of my cats) is in remission with lymphoma. He was diagnosed three summers ago, had the cancer removed, underwent chemo for 2 years and was clean ever since. Up until a month ago when a new cyst showed up. On Sunday he stopped eating normally, which was the initial symptom that eventually led to to his diagnosis of lymphoma. 

So I took Abbott up to see his oncologist, twice, in the past three days. The good news is that the cyst is benign, hasn't grown and he's still in remission. Lesson: Ultimately, God is in charge of Abbott's health. I do the little things, like feeding him, making sure he plays and stays active and taking him to the vet when he needs it. But, I still have to leave his heath in God's hands.

2. God is good.
I started a new part-time job at the neighborhood elementary school last week. I work as an activity aid in the cafeteria (which feeds 400 kids in 6 shifts). And I'm also a reading tutor. I've worked on projects involving elementary schools before, but I've never been an employee of a school system. To land this job, within walking distance, working with great kids has been very good. But, anyone who spends time with children, or has them knows, they can be challenging. On those days, I need to remind myself of God's goodness that landed me this job in the first place.

3. God is for me.
Regarding #1 above, Abbott hadn't eaten normally for 4 days. That's a record for him. He is not a picky eater. I took him to see his oncologist and got a clean bill of health re. his lymphoma. I also took my cat to see his regular vet who diagnosed a respiratory infection and gave Abbott meds for it. He is already feeling better. 

Through all these vet visits, I have to believe that God is for Abbott. God is also for me!

4. God provides.
Regarding #3 and #1, I've racked up quite a tab so far in vet bills. Over $500. Although I'd be lying if I said that I haven't been tempted to stress out about this, I choose to keep on giving God the financial side of this situation. Over a decade ago God plainly let me know that I wasn't to be anxious about my finances. 

That isn't to say that there haven't been challenges, but...

5. God keeps promises.
Concerning all of the above points, they are based on God being faithful. I can trust God because of past experience, because of what the Bible says about God's character and because I choose to have faith to believe. This faith isn't pie-in-the-sky. It's based on a foundational relationship that has been tested over time and proven to be true.

How about you? Is there anything you need to be reminded of, as far as God is concerned? Feel free to share!

Photo Credit: www.todayifoundout.com

Are you feeling like a spiritual schizophrenic?

For most of my life, my primary motivator has been fear.

I either did or didn't do things because of it.

New experiences were stressful. Initiating conversations was a challenge. Work was a daily practice in blaming others for my own creative inertia.

During this same period of time I was a faithful church-going follower of God's son. I taught Sunday school. I was on the prayer ministry team. But what I was experiencing on Sunday wasn't translating into the rest of the week.

For a while I blamed God.

And I felt like a spiritual schizophrenic. 

Behaving one way, positive and upbeat, at church. Even portraying an upbeat persona at work on most days (despite the aforementioned blaming habit). But deep inside, feeling as if the core of my being had yet to be affected.

I was stuck.

I was stuck because God has given me an adventurous spirit. 

When I was in my mid-20s I packed some clothes and a frying pan, stuffed them into a backpack, and got on a train to New York City. For a kid who was raised in the midwest, in a smaller-sized town (of about 35,000) this was a huge deal. Not to mention that I had no job waiting for me. Or any friends in New York that I could live with temporarily while I adjusted to the Big Apple.

Suffice to say I made it. That adventurous spirit kept me in Manhattan for eight years, during which time I earned a master's degree and became the chief researcher for the National Coalition for the Homeless (which included helping to put together the first Congressional hearing on homelessness since the Great Depression). 

Shortly after 9/11, that spirit of adventure hit again, and I quit my job and returned to New York for 16 months to become involved with Metro World Child, ministering to kids via a marvelous invention called Sidewalk Sunday School. 

When I came back home, I was re-hired by my former boss into a different position, which held additional responsibility.

But the pattern of being confident and adventurous on the outside while being full of fear on the inside remained. 

Fast forward, I retired at the end of 2014 and recently started a part-time position working in a neighborhood elementary school.

This first week has been one in which I've directly had to face fear of the unknown. Big time.
From remembering where the staff bathrooms are, to the myriad of other details involved in the learning curve that comes along with any new job.

It hasn't been easy. But this time, I'm not finding myself stuck.

I am choosing to enter into God's presence in a deeper way each day.

I am choosing to speak out God's promises to me. (Things like, I'm His kid. He has me covered in all situations. I'm not going anywhere where He hasn't already provided for me).

I am choosing faith over fear.

And I'm learning that this choice doesn't mean that I won't experience fear again, It simply means that, with God's help, I will choose faith. To live as if God is protecting me, even if it doesn't feel like it.

The funny thing is, each time that I choose to live by faith, God's there. Each time in life when I've said yes to adventure, and kept God at the center of it, it's turned out fine.

What have I learned through all this?

God is a good God. God is trustworthy. God is with me. 

This knowledge isn't based on how I'm feeling at the minute. It's not based on me at all. It's based solely on who God is. So it turns out I'm not a spiritual schizophrenic after all. 

It boils down to making an irrevocable decision to trust and hope in God, and live by faith. Actively seeking God's presence daily. And as Robert Frost once wrote in his beautifully prophetic poem, The Road Not Taken: "That has made all the difference."

How about you? I invite you to post a response.


Photo Credit. www.fmaonline.net

God's given us a battle plan to fight anxiety!

I recently started a new part-time job.

As with anything new, there's a learning curve.

I found myself increasingly frustrated that there was so much new stuff to absorb. Little things, like where is the staff bathroom? And bigger things, like understanding the details of the reading tutor position and how to relate to the kids in the cafeteria who flow in for lunch in six different segments during a three-hour action-packed time frame.

Yesterday it seemed too much.

There was simply too much for my mind to comprehend. Nervousness and anxiety soon took over, along with a negative attitude. I began telling myself, "you're not going to succeed at this."

But this morning I had a wake-up call. This morning God reminded me that it's that very presence that makes the difference.

Because God's presence changes things.

God's presence puts life in perspective. There simply is nothing more powerful than that presence. 

Nothing. 

That underlying stability was what I had been missing this week. I had allowed everyday life to overtake the reality of the Living God.

Wow!

How absurd for me to think I could get by on my own, without acknowledging the Creator of the Universe. 

As if to underscore this spiritual tap on the shoulder, there were several Tweets sent out earlier today on Twitter that spoke to this reality. God is bigger than any situation that we face. Whatever situation we may be facing may not necessarily change immediately, but God's presence will allow us to view the situation from a different perspective. That view, from God's eyes, totally changes everything. God's presence ushers in a treasure of spiritual resources to help us.

From God's point of view, we aren't responsible for the outcome. From God's point of view, our place is to lean into God and then see anxious thoughts go. It's exactly what Paul wrote: "Be anxious for noting, but in all things, with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will guard your minds and your hearts in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4.6).

That isn't just a prescription for how to handle anxiety. It's a promise.

When anxiety knocks on the door, we have a God-given plan.

1. Recognize the anxiety
2. Start praying (giving the anxious thoughts to God)
3. Praise God for what God's done. Be specific, remembering instances of God's faithfulness in your life)
4. Let God know what you need (being as specific as possible, even if it's "Lord, take these anxious thoughts away!")
5. Expect and receive God's peace

It's important to remember that God's peace very likely won't make logical sense to you. In fact your logical mind might even try to convince you that just because you gave the anxious situation up to God, that doesn't take it away. But be assured, God's presence is infinitely more powerful that anything we will face today.

The bottom-line of it is that God's promise to us is that we're always covered. 

God has given us a very practical way to receive the spiritual help we need when anxiety knocks on our door. We don't have to fear or deny the anxiety. We can see it as an opportunity to draw deeper into God's presence, being thankful for what God's already done, letting God know what we need, and then, with confidence in God, expect God's peace in return.

Photo Credit: www.studygrowknowblog.com

Is God in our mistakes?

Some thoughts on recent current events:

Umpqua Community College Shootings

Much has been said about this tragedy. I was struck by President Obama's obvious frustration when he spoke publicly just a few hours after the shootings, in regards to finding a solution to yet another mass killing.

The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Bill of Rights includes the 'right to bear arms.' The 2nd Amendment became part of the Constitution in 1791. That was less than 20 years after the Revolutionary War. The concern over the 'right to bear arms' was borne during this nation's infancy and was directly related to the grassroots effort that fueled the birth of the United States.

While  the widespread 'right to bear arms' among ordinary citizens may have been necessary in 1791 to protect our fledgling nation, that is no longer the case. We have several branches of the armed forces, and the Department of Defense receives one of the highest portions of our entire national budget. Thankfully, we no longer need individual citizens stocking up firearms to protect our country.

The mother of the person who killed 10 students at Umpqua Community College was fully aware of the mental-emotional status of her suffering son. It has been widely reported that she also encouraged his interest in guns, and kept several loaded weapons in their home. Including an AK-47 and AR-15. These are semi-automatic rifles. She also kept a Glock handgun.

No family needs such a stockpile of weapons, and certainly no one needs to be holding an AK-47 or AR-15 in their home. It's pointless to argue the need for these sorts of weapons in the hands of ordinary citizens.They are accidents waiting to happen. Take a look at the occurrence of death by gun in other countries and the percentage of gun ownership among citizens and you'll quickly see that the United States is towards the top of the list in both categories.

My heart goes out to the family members of the slain students. My heart goes out to the Umpqua Community College family as well. They have suffered a loss that will affect them for the rest of their lives. They and the other victims of mass shootings deserve a better response than platitudes extolling the right to bear arms.

The Bombing of a Hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan

Last week a U.S. air strike knocked out a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. 22 people were killed in the airstrike. 

The U.S. military has been reluctant to say much about it. Or to formally apologize. The U.S. Military Commander in Afghanistan initially said that it was the Afghans who asked for the airstrike. Three days later the same Military Commander admitted the strike could have been the result of faulty communication among the chain of command. Meanwhile Doctors Without Borders has repeatedly stated that there was no reason for the attack and they have called for an investigation. There were no significant military operations happening near the hospital. More than three days after the airstrike, President Obama called the chief of Doctors Without Borders to apologize. Although the President promised a thorough investigation, to be held by US affiliated/supported organizations. Doctors Without Borders is calling for an independent inquiry.

The irony of this situation is that functioning hospitals in Afghanistan are few and far between. The Afghans are already seriously deprived after years of war. They don't need their remaining hospitals taken out.

Syrian Refugee Crisis

I recently wrote a post about the Syrian refugee crisis. A few days ago one of the candidates for U.S. President stopped in my home town and gave a speech. During the speech he said it would be "crazy" for the U.S. to bring in more Syrian refugees. (Our country has taken in about 1,500 people, and President Obama is calling to bring in up to 10,000 more).

The candidate said: "What President Obama is proposing to do, bring tens of thousands of Syrian Muslims to America, is nothing short of crazy." The candidate made this statement, despite the U.S. National Intelligence Director saying that the U.S. had an "aggressive" program for vetting refugees.

This presidential candidate didn't speak about the fact that a good portion of the most recent Syrian refugees are well-educated and held professional jobs until their cities were mostly destroyed. The point being, Syrian refugees are leaving their country because there is no support system left. They are desperate to get to Western Europe and America because they no longer have homes.

Their lives are in ruins. They need our active compassion and support, not judgment. If we need a spiritual standard for how to handle this sort of situation, I'm reminded of what Jesus said about taking in strangers among us. 

I'm also reminded that historically, almost all of us living in the United States, with the notable exception of Native Americans, come from families who were once immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants.

So, where is God in all this? 

One lesson we can hopefully learn from these events is that no nation is perfect. 

No nation is correct 100% of the time. 

If we catch ourselves feeling reluctant to admit our mistakes, that's a sure sign that we are headed in the wrong direction.

The Bible teaches that when we make a mistake, it's a good idea to admit it. In fact, true healing doesn't happen without confessing, either as individuals, or as a nation. Repentance can't happen without admitting we did something wrong. It's really that simple. I'll be the first to say that I don't especially enjoy admitting I'm wrong, or that I've sinned. But when I take that first step towards repentance, I've found that God is always there to offer forgiveness and restoration.

It's not a popular teaching, but it's what God wants for us in order to grow in relationship with each other and with God.

Photo Credit: www.spiritualinspiration.tumblr.com

Continuing to Give Thanks: Ann Voskamp & One Thousand Gifts

Back in early September I wrote a blogpost about Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. In the post, I mentioned that I had taken Voskamp's example and began to write down things I was thankful for.

The whole idea was to nurture a deeper sense of thanks in the middle of everyday life. An appreciation for the simple (and significant) things, and for God's hand in them.

As this post is being written, I've recorded 1567 things to be thankful for in my thanks journal.

Here's an update of some of the more recent entries:

No, 1410 Great TED talk by Jeremy Courtney. (He and his wife run an organization called Preemptive Love that provides life-saving surgeries for kids in Iraq). You can view Jeremy's TED talk here. 

No. 1425. Weeding flower beds around the house. It's amazing how far a little weeding will go in bringing out natural beauty. A handy metaphor for life.

No. 1431. Having lunch with 3 friends who spontaneously called me up to say there were in town attending a car show. There's nothing like the sheer joy of unplanned fellowship!

No. 1443. Enjoyed a movie, A Simple Story about a Chinese filmmaker who took care of his childhood caretaker when her health became increasingly frail.

No. 1447. Great Kids' Church class today! If you want to remain hopeful and emotionally/mentally limber, spend time with a bunch of kids!

No. 1462. Supper with one of my sisters and her husband who were up from Florida. It's fun to get together with family, especially when out-of-state siblings are involved. Such times help me not take them for granted.

No. 1463 Peace House is back up for the school year! (It's a place on the east side of town where two married couples with kids have joined together to minister to other kids in this fragile neighborhood.) 

No, 1488. Three of my 4 sister siblings got together to go through our Mom's memorabilia (mostly clothing items). Mom passed away 20 months ago, and it was time to sort through her belongings to pass them along to other siblings and grandchildren. I was very grateful to be part of honoring Mom's memory this way.

No. 1503 Started the day feeling highly anxious but was grateful for God's mercy in alleviating that feeling once I acknowledged it and gave it to God.

No. 1534 Found free parking for the Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI.  This is a major art show, with hundreds of pieces exhibited throughout the city, drawing in thousands of people each day. So getting a parking space gratis was no small accomplishment!

No, 1540 Got to be part of an alumni-student event at Olivet College. About 15 students were given a chance to chat with alumni about career options and plans. I hadn't been back on campus in over two decades so this was a real treat! Even nicer to have an opportunity to meet with current students who were so optimistic about their future.

No. 1542 Made a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich featuring a juicy-ripe tomato from my brother's garden! It was the best tomato I'd had all year! And there is nothing like that combination!!!

None of the above events are earth-shatteringly significant.

But, as Voskamp suggests, it's good practice to acknowledge them and remind ourselves where these moments of grace come from.

There's a scripture that states, "God is the author and perfecter of our faith."

Somehow, I think the simple act of giving thanks is a huge part of that process.

Thanks again, Ann Voskamp for opening my eyes to this practice!