If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

Well, it is that time again. I was reminded (the older I get, the more reminding comes my way. I will have to figure out why this happens one of these days. I am sure I will have to be reminded to look into this). It is time for me to write my little blurb for the YMCA Newsletter for April. I seem to do a lot of writing; after this I will have to write a What a YMCA chaplain does document for an upcoming all staff training. More than likely I will have to be reminded to do that as well. 

Oh yes, the newsletter and the being reminded conversation.. I asked what the value of the month for April was going to be. I was told it is Service, that got me to thinking, actually it got me to thinking about Jim Buckley my dad. Actually, Jim is my wife Laurie's dad which technically makes him my in-law. but, as you know, I don't have in-laws. If one has in-laws, then they must have out-laws. there are no out-laws in my family, so I only have family. For more on this topic you can read one of my old posts where we talked about In-laws and Out-laws. I would tell you when I wrote it, but I forgot. 

Back to Jim.

Jim was the Executive Director of the Mankato Minnesota Family YMCA. Jim was a humble man. To meet him you would think that he had not done anything remarkable in his life, other than raise some fantastic kids. 

Here is a quick list of Jim's accomplishments:

• 1962'ish-Helped bring Martin Luther King Jr. to Mankato to speak.
• 1969'ish - Walked a 100 mile walk of reconciliation to reconcile the Sioux with:
• The city of Mankato
• Blue Earth County
• State of Minnesota
• 1972'ish-Held the first Pow-Wow at Sibley Park and it still goes on today.
• Hired the first Catholic nun to work in his YMCA (remember back in those days Protestants and Catholics didn't hang around together (I do remember that!). 

Jim had many obstacles to overcome, many conversations to make these things happen, late nights, early mornings. These things were not easy to accomplish.

There were many people that told Jim, "You will never make that happen." Jim never let them get him down. He just did it anyway. I am reminded of a quote, "The one who says it can’t be done should get out of the way of the one who is doing it."[1]

Most of us are paralyzed by the Bystander Effect. The bystander effect, or our tendency to wait for others to act rather than acting ourselves.[1]

Don't be derailed by the, "It can't be done people." Don't be a bystander. No matter how small you think you are, you can and will make a difference. If you think I am wrong, just remember, "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito."

--African Saying[1]

Something to think about.

Blessings,

---

[1]Stearns, Richard. The Hole in our Gospel. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson), 2009. 250. 

---

[1]David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth: Life after Warming. (New York: Tim Duggan Books), 2019. 159. 

---

[1]Stearns, Richard. The Hole in our Gospel. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson), 2009. 274. 

Don't be a Coprolite!

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

Yesterday, we talked about how long it had been since we last spoke and I mentioned that it is one's response to a challenge, and not the challenge itself that defines them. 

I am being nudged to continue this conversation. I guess He wants us to get this point.

He said, "Roger, sometimes you can be such a coprolite!" I shook my head and said, "Sometimes you sound just like my sister."

When I was going through cancer, and the subsequent Chemo treatments, I was surrounded by people that where much farther down the road on their journey with cancer than I was. It was awfully hard for me to feel bad, or sad, when these wonderful individuals where handling their diagnoses with such grace and dignity. 

My father used to say, actually he still says it, "Before you start feeling sorry for yourself, take a look around. You will see people that are going through much tougher stuff than you are." Good ole' trucker wisdom, you can't beat it.

Yet, when I look around, or simply jump into my car, I am confronted with people that are aggressive, angry, and just not nice; Coprolites. 

When I talk with people I seem to run into more people that are self-centered, myopic, and mean; Coprolites.

I watch people be horrible to people to the service industry. They say nasty things to waiters, waitresses, flight attendants...They are being Coprolites. 

Don't be a Coprolite!

We will all face challenges in our lifetimes, some easy and simple, some difficult, some seemingly unbearable. It is then that we need to lean into God, talk with Christ, listen for His nudges and wisdom. 

Proverbs 2:6 says, "For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

I don't know about you, but when I lean on my own understanding and my own knowledge I too can be a Coprolite. I don't want to be a Coprolite. 

I will work even harder on giving Grace, giving people space to process, being loving and less judgmental, and not being a Coprolite.

I just realized that not everyone knows what a Coprolite is. Coprolite is an paleontological term for a fossilized turd. 

Something to think about.

Blessings,

Roger

1-year, 4-months and 7-days. Let's not wait so long next time.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well. 

It has been a few days since we have talked last. 

I got to thinking, "How long has it actually been?", so I looked it up.

It has been:

• 1-year, 4-months and 7-days

Or

• 1.4 years

Or

• 16.3 months

Or

• 70.6 weeks

Or

• 494 days

Or

• 11,856 hours

Or

• 711360 minutes

Or

• 42681600 seconds

No matter how you calculate it, it has been awhile.

The last time we talked I was visiting the Dairy Farm (Chemo treatments). 

Since then I have:

• Finished Chemo
• Went into remission 
• Had a back procedure
• Had a full-blown back surgery
• Had knee surgery
• Grew my hair back
• Told countless "dad" jokes.
• Talked with God
• Yelled at God
• Apologized for yelling at Him
• Laughed at and forgiven by Him

If you haven't noticed I have grown fond of bullet points, mainly because it drives Trevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvor crazy!

My wife, Laurie, wants me to write another book, "Life after cancer." She was talking to me one day. Yes, she still talks to me. She said, "When you got the cancer free card from your oncologist, people started talking like everything was over. In fact, you had a number of things left to go through. You should write about trials and tribulations of recovering from cancer." Maybe I will someday, but not yet.

I was talking with a friend the other day, actually I was complaining about something, I can't remember what it was, I am sure it was important, so important in fact that a few days later I can't remember what I was complaining about. She looked at me and said, "Someone once told me, It isn't the challenge that defines you, it is your response." I said, "Who told you that nonsense!" She said, "A very wise man."

I told her, "He sounds like an idiot to me!"

She was right. How we respond to the challenges in our lives is more important than the challenges themselves. If I am to be congruent with what I say I believe, I must continually work on becoming more like Him. I have not arrived yet. I still struggle, it is a journey. 

Good thing I have a canoe!  

Anyway, I have missed our conversations and I hope you have too.

Talk soon.

Blessings,

Roger

Big stuff, small stuff, here comes space stuff (Asteroid)!

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I was at my Oncologist's office this morning. Yes, cancer the gift that keeps on giving.

As we talked about stuff, and the shape of the world we currently live in, I talked about my friends on the Dairy Farm, my doctor likes the fact that I call Chemo the Dairy Farm, "It makes it feel better somehow", says he. 

I talked about big stuff verses small stuff and how just about everything is small stuff. How we try to make small stuff into big stuff because somehow it makes us more important, or something. How people are getting upset and angry about things they really shouldn't get upset or angry about.

I am reminded of a story Tolstoy wrote. In the story there were two farmers. who lived next to one another. One day a farmer went to his chicken coop and found an egg missing. He assumed his neighbor stole it and accused his neighbor of stealing an egg. 

Two things about this story that always caused me pause:

1. How did the farmer know that an egg was missing and that his chicken just had not laid an egg that day?

2. Why did he assume his neighbor had stolen an egg in the first place?

Anyway, this caused a feud that ended when one farmer lit the other farmers house on fire only to have the flames catch his house on fire too thus burning his own house down in the process. 

"One match burns two houses"

Big stuff, small stuff here comes space stuff.

If we just sit back a moment and ask the question what is truly BIG verses what is truly small we have new eyes to see things through. 

According to an internet search evidently there is an asteroid that is going to hit the earth on election night. 

Big stuff, small stuff, here comes space stuff (Asteroid)!

Now if you want BIG stuff that would be right up there. After all the last time a large asteroid hit the earth it was an extinction event.

Upon further research however I found that alas this was not true, thus the Asteroid story became small stuff pretty quickly. 

I guess what I am trying to say is the next time you think you have BIG stuff do a little research to verify that it is truly BIG, chances are it too will become small.

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger  

"If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat."

 Good morning,
I pray the day finds you well.

I got up this morning thinking about a book I read almost twenty years ago. The book was "If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat." by John Ortberg. 

I have thought about this book when it came to mind over the years and always causes me pause. In the book John uses the analogy of Peter walking on the water to greet Jesus. He talks bout being daring, getting out of your comfort zone. Doing something new and different for Christ. 

He says, "If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat."

Meaning that if you want to see change and do things that will get new results you have to stop what you are doing and take a chance. If you want to do something truly amazing like walk on water, you have to get out of the boat. 

Over the years I have wondered whether I have truly gotten out of the boat? That is the thought that haunts me.

He goes on to say, "here is a deep truth about water-walking: the fear never goes away."

Meaning, that when you go into the great unknown, totally trusting Christ, it will be a bit scary, The fear of sinking will never go away. Walk on water anyway!

Laurie (my wife) and I have felt this fear. She has expressed it in terms like, "We are going to have to eat cat food or live under a bridge.

He goes on to say, "the worst failure is not to sink in the waves. The worst failure is to never get out of the boat.

I hope I have not committed this failure. Never taking a chance. Always remaining safely in the process or business that is known and not making a real impact but keeping comfortable is the worst failure, you never got out of the boat. 

He finishes with, "I believe there are many good reasons to get out of the boat.  But there is one that trumps them all: The water is where Jesus is."

You can stay in the boat and talk about the things of God or you can emulate Peter and actually go do the things God would have you do. 

You can walk on water, you can walk toward Christ. Sure the fear of sinking will be there but God has you in His hands. 

Something to Ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

---

I will try not to make small stuff, big stuff.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I have been a bit cranky lately. I have been feeling a bit down as my "post chemo" body has been dealing with the effects of having been filled with poison for seven months. 

I was busy lamenting to someone (I do not even know who) about this when God reminded me, "Aren't you the guy who spent time on the dairy farm (chemo room)? Aren't you the guy who spent time with people a lot farther down their journey with cancer than your place in the journey? What did you learn from these people?"

I stopped in my tracks. I remembered how we talked about big stuff and little stuff, both large and small. I remembered how we talked about not sweating the small stuff and how the more we talked the less big stuff there was in our lives, in fact unless we made it big stuff it was all small stuff!

We talked about not knowing how many days we had, and making the most out of the day that was in front of us. 

As I ruminated on my conversations on the dairy farm I remembered something someone had once said. Someone whose words remained after they themselves had been forgotten. 

This is what they said:

This is the beginning of a new day.

God has given me this day to use as I will.

I can waste it or use it for good.

What I do today is important,

Because I’m exchanging a day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever,

Leaving in it’s place something that I have traded for it.

I want it to be gain, not loss;

Good, not evil; Success, not failure,

In order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it.

Anonymous

I will try and remember these words. 

I will try not to make small stuff, big stuff.

My post Chemo Body is small stuff. I will have fun working on it 

What stuff are you making "big stuff" today, is it really big stuff? If you are unsure, ask someone who is looking eternity directly in its face, they will tell you what big stuff is, and what isn't.

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

Come on people now smile on your brother,

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

The Youngbloods wrote this song in 1967. 

Love is but a song to sing
Fear's the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
And you may not know why

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Some may come and some may go
We shall surely pass
When the one that left us here
Returns for us at last
We are but a moment's sunlight
Fading in the grass

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

If you hear the song I sing
You will understand (listen!)
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It's there at your command

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

I said, come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Right now
Right now

It says it all!

I believe we should be practicing this today.

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger