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One thing that I have always noticed was the farther removed I was from my dental cleaning the more people offered me a mint!

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

Well, I am going to broach a subject with you that usually makes people a bit squeamish. I want to have a conversation about spiritual cleanliness. 

I have always been an advocate for dental hygiene! I have regular dental visits for cleanings and if I need any work done I do not put it off, but get that done right away. I have always had good teeth, I am lucky that way. I am a regular flosser, and I brush my teeth as my dentist recommends, I even have a water-pick in the shower. I like to stand in the shower and water-pick my gums. I realize as I am telling you this that you may not want to know all this about me, but I am transparent about my life and quite possibly a bit of an over-sharer. 

One thing that I have always noticed was the farther removed I was from my dental cleaning the more people offered me a mint! A wise man once told me, "If someone offers you a mint, take it!" 

When I got cancer, and went through chemo, I wasn't able to go to the dentist as planned for my regular cleanings. It didn't help that COVID was going on and I had no immune system. Once my chemo was done and I had waited the appropriate amount of time, and got the ok from my Oncologist,  I scheduled a badly needed cleaning! 

I got to the dentist, sat in the chair ready for a normal appointment when the unthinkable happened. My Dentist said, "Roger, your chemo treatment has given you periodontal disease!  I said, "How did that happen?" he explained how the chemo kills all the fast growing healing cells in your body and your gums are fast growing cells; along with the fact that it messes up the salivary glands. All of which caused my problem.

Needless to say (another weird statement, because if it is needless to say, why am I saying it? English is weird) I have been working diligently to get my gums back and they are responding, but it isn't easy. 

So I have noticed that since my cancer and chemo I have been offered mints more often (Things that make me go Hmmm...)

As I was sitting in the dentist chair, I started having a conversation with God, or more aptly, He was having a conversation with me. I was talking about my oral health and He was talking about my spiritual health. He said, "Spiritual health is not unlike oral health. If you don't pay attention to it. If you don't take care of it. you spiritual health will diminish. You will become spiritually stinky. 

While people may offer you a mint for your breath, they typically don't offer you a mint for stinky spirituality. They just don't hang around you as much, or talk to you about things that matter. 

As a spiritual director I often tell people that spiritual formation is more like a river and less like a lake.

I explain to them that a person is always in movement in their formation, they are never stationary.  

One is either moving toward God or away from God. It is a constant journey, one in which you never arrive this side of eternity. 

When you are actively taking care of your spiritual health you are moving toward God and you have fresh spirituality. When you neglect your relationship with God you begin to stink. 

Just something I noticed. 

So the question I have is, "How are you taking care of your spiritual health?"

Something to ponder, at least for me.

Blessings,

Roger 

God can be blunt, at least with me.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

Laurie and I were in church this past weekend. Yes, occasionally I do go to church. It helps that the church is in our YMCA. Our Pastor Matt (Yes, that is his real name.) No use trying to hide it, you can google our YMCA and see Rhapsody Church easily enough. Once, you find Rhapsody Church you will see that Matt is the Pastor. I don't know why I am taking the time to tell you this. You already know how to google stuff. 

Matt was talking about the importance of your story and how you are the hands and feet of God. At the end of the service Rhapsody had a baptism. Rhapsody uses our pool for baptism's. 

As the people filed onto the pool deck, some to participate, others to witness. Archibald (our Aquatics Director)  Sophia (our Aquatics Coordinator) and I were on deck. Why was I on deck? Great question, I am so glad you asked. I too am life guard certified. In fact one of the parishioners yelled, "Roger, are you going to save me?" I replied, "God will save you, but I will pull you from the water."

Archibald (Who is a ragamuffin and has been hurt by the church and those that claim a worldview that they seem not to know how to practice.)  said, "That reminds me of a joke." I said, "Let's hear it." 

So he said:

"There was a woman who had been caught in a flood. As she was being washed away she prayed, "God Save me!" A few minutes later a boat came up and the people said, 'We are here to help you, get in the boat.' She replied, 'That is ok, God will save me.' A couple of minutes later a helicopter hovered over her and lowered a life line, which she rejected saying, 'No need, God will save me!' eventually she drowned. When she got to heaven and saw God she asked, 'Why didn't you save me?' God replied, 'I sent you a boat and then a helicopter, what more did you want me to do?'

This morning I was pondering on what to talk with you about. That is when God said, "I gave you a sermon, I gave you a wise apple parishioner. I even gave you a joke. What more do I have to give you before you take the hint." 

Yes, sometimes God can be blunt, at least with me. 

Just as Matt's sermon was God talking through him to me. Just as I got to respond to a wise cracker reminding him that it is God that saves and I am just his hands and feet. Just as Archibald's joke reminded me that God works in mysterious ways and to expect the unexpected. I too must continue to see God in the everydayness of life, for that is where He shows up most. 

So...the question I have is, "Have you seen God in the unexpected? Has He shown you a different way, a deeper question? Has He given you new eyes to see Him with?

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger 

Right time, right place

Good morning,

I pray they day finds you well.

I woke up this morning wondering what God was going to nudge me to write about today?

My normal process for talking with you is to write a bread the day before I post it. In doing so, I am not rushed to get something out and this allows me time to hear what God is saying to me. 

You may say, "If God wanted to say something and inspire you to write wouldn't He just tell you first thing in the morning?" My answer is, "God very well may be talking to me first thing in the morning, but that doesn't mean I am present to His words. I am a ragamuffin after all." It is not me giving God time to think about something for me to write about, it is God waiting patiently for me to settle down enough to be present to Him. 

I was still pondering what God was going to nudge me with when I drove to the "Y." 

I was still pondering this when I got to the parking lot and was walking into the building (Did I mention that I like to ponder?). 

When I opened the door Bluebell (Yes you guessed it, not her real name, who by the way, was wearing a beautiful flowery spring dress) Said excitedly, "Good morning Roger. Come over here I have something to show you." I walked over to the front desk and Bluebell held up a 3' piece of pipe about a foot long, there was a 90 degree bend in the middle. Bluebell, asked, "Do you know what this is?" I just stared at the piece of pipe for a bit and said, "No."

Bluebell said, "Come on, guess."

Have I ever mention that I suffer from test anxiety? And this had just become a test! Sweat started to bead on my brow and my heart started to race, my chest became tight...Ok, I can't keep this up. None of that happened but my imagination went wild for a moment (I think you know it is loud in my head.)

So I guessed, "A pipe from the steam room?"

Bluebell said, Nope. it is from our "Y" Without Walls bus." A couple of guys were trying to steal our catalytic convertor but Sabastian (My IT guy who just happens to double as our facility maintenance person) came in early for no apparent reason and caught them. They took off running leaving the pipe and convertor right at the bus!

Bluebell said, "Sabastian was in the right place at the right time." Then she said, "We even had a member say they would take a look at it and see if they can fix it! That should be your daily bread."

I just smiled and said, "I believe you are right." God had just spoken to me, He used Bluebell so I could hear Him. 

So often I hear people ask, "Why did God wait so long to....?" My typical answer is, " His ways are not our ways, His timing is not our timing, but He is always in the right place at the right time." 

My wife was on the phone with her brother last night and he called us Job, because of our apparent trials and tribulations the last number of years. When she told me what he said, we laughed. We are still working on the "Don't worry about tomorrow" thing.  

Sabastian was in the right place at the right time. 

Bluebell was in the right place at the right time.

God used them both to give me the right bread for this time.

Have you heard, or seen God at work in your life today?

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

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.