Old dog, new trick

 Good morning, 

I pray the day finds you well.

I learned something new today.

People were telling me that they haven't seen my blog, that they had been receiving it but then it stopped.  I said, No way." They said, "Yes way!"

I said, "Really?" They said, "Really!"

This caused me to ponder (something I am fond of doing), this caused me to pause (something I am less fond of), this caused me to question (Another thing I like doing).  

I went to my local IT guy (he just happens to be our facility manager) Sabastian. Sabastian is not a common name over here in the states, but it has been quite popular in Europe for many centuries. Don't believe me, google it; that is what I did because you guessed it, Sabastian is not his real name, but a story always goes better with a name attached!

I found Sabastian in the men's locker room, he was holding a valve to the shower head in one of the showers and when I walked in he yelled for me to give him the screwdriver on the bench; evidently the valve had malfunctioned and he was holding it so it wouldn't send a torrent of water down on him. There were two screwdrivers on the bench, I asked, "Which one do you want?" He yelled, as he was frantic by this point because he had been there for a while, "I don't care just give me one!" 

When Sabastian yelled about the screwdriver I immediately went to a post I had written in 20?? called, The Red Handled Screwdriver incident of 1974. Posted June 27, 2012. If you are interested go read it.

Anyway, I handed him a screwdriver and he was very grateful. Moments later he emerged unscathed and very dry, ready to help me. 

I explained my dilemma, including all the "Ways" and "Reallys"  

He took me to the backend of my blog, I didn't even know it existed, clicked a few buttons, installed a thing called a gadget, whatever that is, and wonder of wonders a "Subscribe button was on the front page!

He showed me how to use it, which I quickly forgot, and off I went. 

As I sat back in my chair admiring all the work I didn't do, but I learned something new. God gently said, "You see Roger, all you had to do was bring down the Ego, humble yourself enough to say, 'I don't know what I am doing and be transparent enough to admit it to someone and your life changed. You now know something different than you did a little bit ago."

He went on to say, "That is no different than a life with Me. If you just drop the Ego a bit, humble yourself to say God I need some help here. I am right here to help you. Your life will change. You will experience something new, you will be different."

I guess it is true, "You can teach an old dog a new trick." God has been doing it for thousands of years.

Something to ponder.

BTW, all you have to do is enter your email address under the subscription in the box and an email will come to you asking you to click a link to confirm you want a notification of the Daily Bread for Ragamuffins and Wonder of Wonders you will receive the daily Bread automatically.

Blessings,

Roger 

A symbiotic relationship.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I got to be a drowning victim. 

Our Aquatics director asked me to be a drowning victim for a life guard drill. 

The drills are really cool, they happen when the pool is open and the guards least expect them. One would think the members would be upset by the fact that the pool is cleared, which means they have to get out of the water and sit on the deck during the drill, but they aren't; I think this is for two reasons:

1. The drills are fun to watch.
2. Our guards are really good at their jobs and when the members watch them in action they see how the guards would respond if they had an emergency. 

There is a third reason, but I will save that for later.

Archibald, our Aquatics Director (Not his real name, but like I am fond of saying, a story goes much better with a name attached), came into my office and asked if I would be a drowning victim for the next "Live Drill". I responded immediately, "Yes, I would be honored." Being a victim is fun. you get to pretend to drown, the guards jump in and "save" you, you are back-boarded out of the pool and get to watch them do CPR. Luckily I am replaced by a CPR manikin before any rescue breaths are given, that would just be weird.  

Archibald laid out the drill. He said, "The drill will happen at 4:05pm, just after shift change. I want you to enter the lap pool shortly before 4pm and start swimming laps with your swim paddles on. At 4:05pm take off the swim paddles and lay them on the pool deck (This will signal to the trainers you are about to drown). Then swim to the midpoint of the pool and pretend you had a massive heart attack and just go limp face down; do all of this in the middle lanes so the guard has to swim to you. 

Obviously Archibald had thought this through. 

I entered the pool at 3:55pm and started my swim in lane-3. At 4:05pm I took off my swim paddles and laid them on the pool deck, turned around and started my swim to the middle of the pool. When I arrived at the middle of the pool I stopped swimming and went limp face down. A few seconds later I heard the splash of someone diving in. Less then a minute later I was standing on the pool deck ready to watch a successful drill come to its completion. 

That is when it got weird.

The other guards grabbed me and threw me back into the water, all the while yelling, "Save the whale, Save the whale!" When I came to the surface Greenpeace was there protesting the "back-boarding of a whale" It was quite the scene!

Actually this only happened in my head, but it was hilarious. Did I mention it is loud in my head?

As I was floating back, weightless in the arms of the guard, I was surrounded by this sense of peace, tranquility, and safety. 

God came to mind. 

The feeling I had in the arms of the guard while floating weightless in the water was the same as when I feel the presence of God. 

I will help out Archibald (I really like saying Archibald) again. I will help the guards perfect their craft and they will help me feel the presence of God 

A symbiotic relationship.

Do you have a symbiotic relationship that helps you to sit with God?

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

I am that guy that could screw up a one-man relay race.

 

Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I got to the "Y" a bit early this morning and found the lap pool had open lanes; this does not happen often so I took advantage of it and went for a swim. One of the advantages of being a chaplain in the YMCA is I get to be a gym rat! I get to swim, walk the track, lift weights, play pickle ball...all of which is member engagement!! When I walk the track I am typically listening to someone, whether that someone is a staff, volunteer or a member, I am honored and humbled by the fact that I get to be present to people encourage them, and sometimes even give them some words of wisdom. When I play pickleball I get to be part of their laughter and smiles. When I am spotting someone on the weight floor I have the opportunity to give words of encouragement. All the while they are telling me their "stuff." 

Swimming is the only time I really get time to myself. Every so often I see toes at the edge of the pool, which means someone really wants to talk to me, but not very often. Swimming is one of the few times I actually get to go deep in my head and ponder things and think. This morning I was contemplating why people insist on a specific verse to help them get through or justify or reason through...whatever it is they are having a tough time with. 

Often times people will ask, "What does the Bible have to say about...?"  

Many times people are perplexed when I don't just quote a scripture verse. I am more Eugene Peterson in this way. I tend to give a larger idea rather than a specific verse. 

"Why do you do that?" you may ask.

I could go into a long rambling explanation, but Richard Foster does a much better job of explaining this than I ever could. 

Richard says:

The source of the problem is rooted in the two most common objectives people have for studying the Bible.  The first is the practice of studying the Bible for information or knowledge alone.  This may include information about particular facts or historical events, or knowledge of general truths or doctrines, or even knowledge of how others are mistaken in their religious views, beliefs, and practices.[1]

 The second common objective people often have for studying the Bible is to find some formula that will solve the pressing need of the moment.  Thus we seek out lists of specific passages that speak to particular needs rather than seeking whole-life discipleship to Jesus.[2]

 If we want to receive from the Bible the life “with God” that is portrayed in the Bible, we must be prepared to have our dearest and most fundamental assumptions about ourselves and our associations called into question.  We must humbly and in a constant attitude of repentance.[3]

Regarding the Bible, then, perhaps the most basic question is: Shall we try to control the Bible, that is, try to make it “come out right,” or shall we simply seek to release its life into our lives and into our world?  Shall we try to “tilt” it this was or that, or shall we give it complete freedom to “tilt” us as it will?[4]

I know this can cause some frustration, since (and I can only talk about me) I would find it much easier to grab a verse, any verse, twist it to fit my current need and feel better about myself. but that is not how God works. 

I am that guy that could screw up a one-man relay race. So if I try and tilt the Bible to fit my needs it never works out well. 

I will continue to do my best to let the Bible "tilt" me! After all it is journey, a Life with God.

Something to ponder.

Blessings

Roger

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[1]Richard Foster, Life With God. (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishing Company, 2008), 4.

[2]Richard Foster, Life With God. (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishing Company, 2008), 5.

[3]Richard Foster, Life With God. (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishing Company, 2008), 5.

[4]Richard Foster, Life With God. (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishing Company, 2008), 7.

It is loud in my head!

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I woke up today and (maybe because of the rain) I was feeling a bit blah, a bit like my cat. If I pick him up first thing in the morning he is just as likely to bite me as purr, it is a crap shoot what will happen. Normally I am a morning person, happy to see the day, and ready to take it on, kind of like my dog wakes up. Ben wakes up ready to give kisses and hugs. Excited for the day.

But today I woke up feeling like my cat. 

As I shuffled through the dark house getting ready for work and really not feeling like doing anything a thought came to mind. A thought I hadn't thought in years. 

It was my "Pet Diaries" thought. I wrote about it years ago and had not thought about it in just about that long. But the thought of it snapped me out of my funk. I thought I would share it again, just in case you are in a funk too. 

Here it goes:

Pet Diaries: Dog vs. Cat...
The Dog's Diary:
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
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The Cat's Diary:
Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Jerks!
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now.

I will be a dog today!

Sometimes I need a reminder of the gift of life and the wonderment of a new day. 

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

Did I tell you I am a plethora of useless information!

I remember random quotes and many thoughts, but I can't remember where I put my keys. 

Have a great day, and remember God loves you.

Blessings,

Roger

Words are important, but actions are telling

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

Friday was my brother's birthday, Happy birthday Kim. 

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day. Her name is Cricket (Not her real name, but every story goes better with a name attached). How did I come up with Cricket as a pseudonym? I am glad you asked. I googled fun names and Cricket came up on top, that's how. 

I have known Cricket for a long time and we have had many wonderful conversations. Cricket is a ragamuffin, she likes Jesus but has been negatively impacted by people that call themselves Christians. She grew up in the church, was hurt by the church, was looked down on by those in authority as less than because of her hurt and the fact that she had a hard time believing in a god that was unloving, judgmental, had favorites, was hypocritical...

Just recounting the conversation makes me sad. 

I told her I don't believe in a god like that either.

One of the classes I teach in the university is Worldviews, and the first thing I tell my students is, "Don't tell me what you believe, your actions will show me what you believe."

Brennan Manning wrote in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel, "If you really want to understand a man, don’t just listen to what he says, but watch what he does."[1]

We are the hands and feet of Christ. We are His mouthpiece. What we say, and what we do either draw people closer to Him or push them away.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be that guy who pushes people away from God. Somebody wrote in a book somewhere that it would be better to have a millstone put around your neck and thrown into the sea than turn one of My children away from me.

Brother Lawrence once said, "Whether God regulates me to Heaven or to Hell, that is His business, I will not worry about that. I will focus on loving Him." 

God is the gatekeeper, not me.

How do I put actions to my belief? I am so glad you  asked. 

Kouzes & Posner said it best, "Here are some of the common phrases people use to describe how they know credibility when they see it:"

1.      “They practice what they preach.”

2.      “They walk the talk.”

3.      “Their actions are consistent with their words.”

4.      “They put their money where their mouth is.”

5.      They follow through on their promises.”

6.      They do what they say they will do.”[2]

I will work on doing this, because as Brennan once said:

"Perhaps the real dichotomy in the Christian community today is not between conservatives and liberals or creationists and evolutionists but between the awake and asleep.  The Christian ragamuffin acknowledges with Macbeth, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.”  Just as a smart man knows he is stupid, so the awake Christian knows that he/she is a ragamuffin."[1]

Don't worry Cricket, God loves you. I am a ragamuffin too.

Blessings,

Roger

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[1]Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel, (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2005), 71. 

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[1]Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel, (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2005), 72. 

[2]James Kouzes & Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge 4^th Edition, (San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2007), 40. 

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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I got to the "Y" this morning, hit the start button on my computer, opened my browser, opened my BibleGateway site (I just realized how many things I opened first thing this morning, and that does not count all the doors!) and my verse of the day was Psalm 23:1-3. 

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me besides still waters, he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for His name's sake."

God is a funny Guy!

All that Rabbi, Troll, mountain and Twidd talk yesterday, and today we get green pastures and still waters. 

Actually, at least for me, He connected yesterday and today at a deeper level (have I mentioned that connectedness is in my top-5 of my StrengthFinders profile?). 

Most people have read Psalm 23 multiple times, it is a reassuring, and peace giving Psalm. People tend to refer to it when they or someone they are with is going through a tough time.

Most people do not read Psalm 22. Psalm 22 is a bit tougher, quite a bit tougher, I might add. 

Have you ever heard (typically it is a pastor or churchy person, usually in a bible study, when talking about the Passion of Christ, Christ on the Cross, when Jesus says, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"(Ma27:46) say that God cannot look upon sin; so God turned away from Jesus when Jesus took on the sin of mankind.

I cannot tell you how many times I have sat with someone going through a really tough time, it could be cancer, it could be addiction, it could be any number of things, but they are hurting, scared, feeling alone; and they remember, or have been told, this story of God turning away from Jesus because of the sin He took on. 

They say, "If God cannot look upon Jesus and His sin, how can He look upon me and my sin? How can I believe in a God that turns from me during my time of greatest need?"  

As they sit in, what has been affectionately named, the crying chair (the chair in my office where people sit and cry), crying and feeling alone and I look at them with compassion in my eyes I say, "Oh you silly goose, do you really think God isn't big enough or strong enough to look upon sin?"

The usual response is a sniffle and a shaky, "No"

I tell them, "That would be a pretty small god, and I don't believe in that god either."

You see, as I am sure you already know, up until the early 20th century most of the world was illiterate. While we have had the written word for over 2,500 years, most people could not read. We had what we like to call oral tradition; a tradition where people memorized sayings, verses if you will (something else we didn't have during the time of Jesus). A rabbi or priest would start to say words from the scroll and people would automatically know what he was referring to. 

Think of the pledge of allegiance. If I say, "I pledge allegiance to the flag." Most likely you can carry on from there and finish it. 

Well guess what, it was the same 2,000 years ago. 

Jesus said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and people didn't think God had turned away. No, they went automatically to Psalm 22, which just happens to start, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 

Why would Jesus go there, you might ask?

Great question, He went there because Psalm 22 depicts Jesus on the Cross 500 years before it happened, thus fulfilling another prophesy. But He doesn't stop there, because after Psalm 22 people naturally went to Psalm 23, which ends with Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Giving a hope and a future. Jesus was teaching about His Father all the way up to the end.

You see yesterday I wrote about people who were afraid that I might lose my faith when going through a tough time. a time when some people might have said, "God gave you cancer to teach you a lessen."

 Ok, friend of Job! Just another one of my theological jokes. 

No, God did not turn away from me. In fact He was there with me the whole time, whether I could see Him or not, feel Him or not, hear Him or not. 

And this morning He reminded me that even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff--they comfort me (Psalm23:4)

Wow, did I have a talking attack or what!

Blessings,

Roger

Silly Rabbi, kicks are for Twidds

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I am still catching up on all my pent-up thoughts from not talking with you for so long. I guess you will just have to put up with my ramblings.

When I was actively, and outwardly, (As I am still going through cancer, just, as we want to be politically correct, I am not cancer presenting) going through my cancer thing, people would often ask me, "How does this affect your relationship with God?" We have to remember that these people were truly concerned about me, and worried that having the big "C" would cause me to question or even lose my faith. 

My typical internal response was, "Silly Rabbi, kicks are for Twidds." 

I know I just left you in the dust and are wondering, "Just what the heck is that?" For a complete explanation you will have to ask my son David; he loves that joke. Just know that there is a Rabbi, a Troll, a group of Twidds, and a mountain involved.  

Sorry, did I mention that I am an internal processor; when I am forced to externally process it is a hot mess. 

Anyway...My external response was and is, "It doesn't, Me and God are still like peas and carrots." 

You see, I don't blame God for my cancer. He didn't give me cancer so He could then cure me to show how wonderful He is. Even saying this causes me to cringe. We have all known manipulative people and even had some in our lives. 

God doesn't manipulate, man does. 

In fact, people often ask me, when we get to talking about God, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? I can't believe in a God like that." 

I respond, "Neither can I." And I follow this with, “Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it.” and, because they think I have a bat-phone to God they say, “Well why don’t you ask Him?” 

I come back with, “Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”

This is just me, you can disagree if you like; this is just us talking. 

God did not make carcinogens for us to take in (remember the, for us to take in part) whether intentionally or not, man did.   

So the whole, "I don't believe in God because bad things happen to good people" doesn't fly with me.

As Yuval Noah Harari wrote so well in his book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind:

"Homo sapiens held the record among all organisms for driving the most plant and animal species to their extinctions. We have the dubious distinction of being the deadliest species in the annals of biology."[1]

If God wanted to stop bad things from happening to good people then He would have to take us all out, just sayin. 

So I am pondering the question, "Why do we allow poverty, suffering, and injustice when WE could do something about it? 

This is what I have been pondering lately.

Blessings,

Roger

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[1]Yuval Noah Harari, Yuval Noah. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. (New York: Harper Collins), 2015. 74. 

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