Lately, I have been thinking about food.

Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

When you walk down a path in the woods, a forest, a place where a lot of trees tend to grow; whatever you want to call it, you have time to think. 

Lately, I have been thinking about food. 

I guess walking burns calories, and calories need to be replaced. Evidently, calories live in food, so one has to eat food to obtain calories, or so I am told. 

So lately, I have been thinking about food. 

Now I do have to get one thing straight. I am not a picky eater. I think it stems from my growing up years and my mother. Mom was a lot of things, a fabulous cook not being one of them. I am not saying anything she hasn't already admitted to. I guess that is what happens when you take a Kennicott off the estate and take away their wait staff, chefs, and cooks. 

Mom, once fried bologna and made rice. The bologna cupped up when fried, mom spooned rice into the bologna, gave it a fancy French name (I guess that makes it taste better), and served it for dinner. Dad ate it like it was candy, Betty and I just looked at each other and said, "You first."  

I lost, took a bite, and found out that while it might not be in my top 53 favorite foods, I didn't die (Scratch that one off the list), so all is good. 

So I was walking along the path thinking about food, oddly enough bologna did not cross my mind. 

I started thinking about:

• Macaroni and cheese
• Tacos
• Sushi
• BBQ
• French bread, cheese, and hard salami
• Cheese

Macaroni and cheese, as I thought about this, I kept going back to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I know it isn't the "gourmet" Macaroni and Cheese, but I do like me some good Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. After all, you are talking to the guy who does not despise fried bologna and rice. 

Tacos, A good street taco is not to be scoffed at. And the best street tacos are often found on the street, go figure. Usually in a trailer that says, "Tacos." 

Sushi is awesome but can be scary. My buddy Chuck and I love Sushi. We are also very cheap. Not gas station Sushi cheap. but pretty darn close. We went to this sushi place a few times and started to notice the same Sushi being served over a few days. We asked the waitress (Is this politically correct anymore, I can never tell?)  The waitperson (Look how I have adapted) said, "Maybe, I can't really tell. We just keep the train moving and hope for the best. She didn't really say that, but it was surely implied. 

We didn't go back to that Sushi place. 

BBQ, I have found the best BBQ in America! You might think I am lying, but I am not. I am not going to tell you where it is either. Ha...but it is good stuff, Maynard!

French Bread, cheese, and hard salami. I only bring that out for my most favorite people. It is actually reserved for only me and my traveling companion. This is special, what is amazing about French Bread, cheese, and hard salami is that it brings out great conversations. You know, the conversations that keep building long after the conversation is over. My kind of conversation. 

Cheese, I love cheese, it is my kryptonite! You name the cheese and I will eat it. 

Yes, walking down a path will bring out the hangry in anyone. 

But you know what? I would rather walk through the woods with my traveling companion and be hungry, tired, and sore; than anywhere else in the world. 

There is nothing like being with someone who you know, and I mean know, has your back. 

I am learning that there is no greater love than that. I am learning that it really doesn't matter what goes on in life as long as you have that! 

Life isn't one big thing, it is a bunch of little things brought together to make the big thing. And walking through life with someone who has your back is something that is made up of a bunch of little things. All those little things make up that big thing, that everyone is looking for. 

I will continue to keep my eyes open, to look at the here and now. 

Oh, and by the way thank you for walking with me.

Blessings,

Roger

 

We live in the here and now. This is where life is.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

My traveling companion and I have been having some really good conversations, when I mean good, I mean deep and insightful. I have never been that "so what do you think about the weather" kind of guy. This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. When I am with a person that likes to talk about deep meaningful and insightful things we have a great conversation, a conversation that continues to build and form even after it is over. When I am with a "so what do you think about the weather" person, I tend to aggravate them. 

The person (I will name him Bill, just to give the story more flavor) will say, "So Roger, what do you think about the weather?"

I will say, "Oh, I think it is quite nice, don't you?"

Bill will often reply, "Yes, I love a beautiful day, and aren't the clouds nice?"

This is usually where things derail.

I will say something to the effect of, "Yes, I really like clouds. Tell me do you like clouds, and which cloud is your favorite? I really don't have a favorite:

There are times when a nice Cirrus Cloud really makes me smile, and there are times when an Altocumulus cloud does the trick, Cumulus clouds are like a pillow and those stratocumulus clouds are amazing. 

Did you know, there are three different kinds of Cirrus clouds?

There are Cirrocumulus, they are high clouds with a puffy, patchy appearance and small spaces between the clouds. they often form wavy patterns. 

There are Cirrostratus clouds, these are the high clouds that are light gray, or white, they are thin though, and you can see the Sun or moon through them. They usually cover most of the sky.

There are Altocumulus clouds, these are the middle clouds that have a puffy patchy appearance with spaces in between, they look like cotton balls. 

There are Alto......Bill, where did you go?"

I wonder where Bill went!

That is what usually happens to my "So what do you think about the weather?" conversations.

When I told this to my traveling companion, she said, "Roger, I do love you, but you really can be a jerk sometimes!" 

I just smiled, and gave her that ya, I know look; because it was true. 

We are still in the forest.

The path isn't scary, it is quite pretty. It curved up ahead and never let us look too far ahead. I realize now it was training me to not be so "far future" focused. I have gotten better at being in the here and now. It is good to look a bit into the future, but not too far. It is much better to be present in the here and now. That is where we are living. 

We no longer live in the past, and we don't live in the future.  

We live in the here and now. This is where life is. 

We had stumbled into an open spot, and I was really quite proud of myself. While it was possible to look way ahead on the path, I didn't. I noticed the openness of the area and the ability to look way ahead. I took a quick glance but didn't stay there. I averted my gaze to a point in the near future and looked at that. All the while maintaining my present self. 

That was a good moment.

If I can say anything to you at all it is this, "Don't focus on far future things, it is a mirage. Definitely, don't focus on the past, it is dead and gone. Live in the here and now, this is where life is." 

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

Sometimes when we look too far ahead we see mirages.

Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

The forest is beautiful this morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all seems to be right in the world, at least for the moment. 

The path is winding through the woods, which keeps me from looking too far down the road; this is a good thing. Sometimes when we look too far ahead we see mirages. We think we see something, but in fact, it is something else entirely. Most of the time it is nothing at all. But, we think we see something and get all wiggy about it. 

It is a good thing the path serpentines through the forest. 

I have been doing a really good job of not looking back, the urge to do so is less every day. I am now working on being present in the moment and not skipping ahead, so to speak. 

I think God is preparing me for something, and I cannot see what it is; this is no surprise, He has never asked me my opinion, or what I thought about one of His plans. 

I am so not the boss.

He will tell me when He is good and ready, this I know. 

I am seeing more and more people with muddy boots, in all stages of the muddy boot saga. 

One thing I have noticed about people that have trudged through the mud and are now on a path is that they are not so quick to come up with an answer. They seem to be less likely to rush to judgment. 

They tend to be good listeners. 

They also seem to have the ability to be good guides along the way. They will tell you if you are actually looking at something or if it is just a mirage. They seem to be able to sift through the muck and get to the good stuff. 

They don't spend their time peering way down the road, the road will take care of itself. 

They seem content, there is a bit of sadness in their eyes which tells me there is something hard they went through, but in the end, there is a contentedness about them, it is comforting and reassuring. 

They say things like, "Don't look past that person, look them in the eye, and ask them, 'How are you today?"

The muddy boot people that I have come across, the ones with old caked-on mud, seem to have a bit of wisdom that helps me along the way. 

They say strange things like, "It isn't the challenge that defines you, it is your response." 

This one always causes me to ponder. 

1. What is my challenge?

2. How do I respond?

It is good to think of these things. It keeps me intentional.

How are you responding to the challenges in your life? 

Are you responding in a way that you like?

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

I "move" a bit more, I have experience with Darryl and that look.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I woke up this morning, made my coffee, and went to my office (When you are a kid you have a room to play in. When you grow up you have an office to play in. I will have to ponder this one of these days). I sat down at my desk (so far so good) and started my computer, that is when the spiritual warfare started!

Most people just say I am inept when it comes to computers, but Darryl and I know differently. I will have a problem with my computer at work and won't be able to do anything. Darryl will walk by and say, "What's going on Rog?" I am not sure if he ever really called me "Rog" but that is what my fingers typed, so I am sticking with it.

I reply, "I can't get my computer to work."

Darryl says, "Just do this. (Whatever "This" happens to be at the moment).

I retort, "I did!"

Darryl says, "Move." Most people will say, "Move over, a lot of them will even add a "please" in there for good measure. Not Darryl, he has a thing for incomplete sentences. 

Darryl will sit down at my computer, usually with that, "It is a good thing he is a good chaplain," because he can't do anything else, look on his face. and starts messing with my computer.

This is the good part, are you ready? 

Darryl will type stuff on the keyboard, and he will mess with the mouse. He gets that funny Bigfoot look on his face, you know the look; it is that Jack Links Beef Jerky commercial Bigfoot look, just before he throws a guy to the moon. 

I "move" a bit more, I have experience with Darryl and that look. 

Darryl then says, "I have no idea what is going on here, it should work just fine. Everyone else's computer is working fine, this is weird." by the way, this is one of his longer sentences. 

I say, "It is spiritual warfare." I have a habit of getting under the enemy's skin and he throws a hissy fit and does stuff that is supposed to make me mad. 

I have learned that if I just leave everything alone for a bit Satan, or one of his minions, eventually gets bored and finds someone else to play with. 

I also do what my IT son tells me to do. He will say, "Dad turn it off, wait for 30 seconds and turn it back on."

Computers are weird, just say-in.

Soooo...long story longer, I had a hard time getting my computer to work this morning so I could talk to you. And after telling you my saga of the computer, I am kind of tired of talking. 

Do you ever have spiritual warfare with your computer, or for that matter, anything else in your life?

If not, wow you are one of the lucky few, if so, how do you handle it? 

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

You have to keep your eyes and ears open when walking in the woods.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I am still wandering through the trees, it has become apparent that I am in a forest, not a glade. It is a conifer forest, with a few deciduous trees here and there but for the most part, the smell of evergreens hangs in the air. I hear birds chirping, there are ground squirrels, squirreling around. I spotted a few deer, you never really hear a deer, they tend to be pretty quiet.  

I can hear running water, which is giving me the impression that there is a river somewhere in the vicinity. I wonder what type of river it is? Does the path parallel the river or cross it? If it crosses it will I be able to cross it. Questions are coming to mind. 

You have to keep your eyes and ears open when walking in the woods. You never know what you will come across. The woods aren't nearly as quiet as one would think they would be, no the woods can be pretty loud and full of noise. The cool stuff is pretty quiet though. 

The birds can be singing, the breeze can be rustling the leaves, but then you will hear a twig snap, your ears perk up, and your eyes look in the direction of the sound. Twigs don't tend to snap all on their own, something caused the twig to snap. 

I have never felt alone in the woods. I find it hard to feel alone when there is so much noise around. 

As I walked through the woods I remembered something that was written around 3,000 years ago. 

"The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went and stood at the mouth of the cave."

I have found this to be true. 

When God speaks he doesn't yell, He doesn't scream; no, He speaks quietly. You have to pay attention to hear him.

When I walk through the forest, I have to sift out the noise and listen for the sound I am meant to hear. The sound that will bring meaning and purpose to my life. It isn't always easy to hear, but I must be diligent and listen. 

As I walked through the forest, I looked down and noticed my boots. The mud was caked and dry. There was just enough left on my boots to remind me of where I had been, but I am not there anymore. 

I am walking through a forest, listening for a gentle whisper. I know this whisper will keep my path straight.  

Do you ever venture out into the woods? 

Do you ever listen for a gentle whisper?

It is hard to sift through the noise, it takes practice. Can you do it?

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger

Henri's quote gives me peace.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I am discovering that walking through the trees on a nice dirt path is a lot easier than trudging through the mud. I the longer I walk this path the more energy I have and the lighter my heart becomes. 

The trees keep me from looking too far ahead. I think God has me in the trees while He trains me to focus on the here and now, not looking too far into the future and definitely not looking into the past. 

As I wander along, not really singing a song, I am finding more peace. Once I began keeping my life verse in the forefront of my mind I have found that I am not so anxious. I am not sure about the depression part, but I don't want to dwell on it. Dwelling on stuff is never good. 

As I walk through the trees, I find myself wondering why I haven't heard from anyone. I began to dwell on the fact that people that I thought would check on me, haven't. I was in the middle of this thought, feeling a bit down and lonely, then God reminded me of something Henry Nouwen had written once.

Henri Said:

"When you keep going anxiously to the mailbox in the hope that someone “out there” has thought about you; when you keep wondering if and what your friends are thinking of you; when you keep having hidden desires to be a somewhat exceptional person in this community; when you keep having fantasies about guests mentioning your name; when you keep looking for special attention from the abbot or any one of the monks; when you keep hoping for more interesting work and more stimulating events – then you know that you haven’t even started to create a little place for God in your heart.

When nobody writes anymore; when hardly anyone even thinks of you or wonders how you are doing; when you are just one of the brothers doing the same things as they are doing, not better or worse; when you have been forgotten by people – maybe then your heart and mind have become empty enough to give God a real chance to let his presence be known to you."

Henri's quote gives me peace. 

God is walking with me. He will have my back even when I am forgotten. 

In the midst of my depression, the enemy did his very best to keep me from God, from relying on Him. I didn't realize it, but I was trying to handle things myself.

I don't know if I ever told you, but I grew up in a small town. The school I attended was so small that we played half-court football. The game only got hard on punt and kickoff returns. I would run past everyone to the 50-yard line and then have to turn around and run through them all again. Uggg.

Our track team was so small that I was the only person on it. For the most part, everything was fine, except for the relay races. I was the only one on it. Why I had to run with a baton always mystified me. I still had to pass the baton; I did this by handing it from one hand to the other. Every so often I would mess it up and drop the baton.

My coach would just look at me and say, "Roger, you could mess up a one-man really race!"

When I try to handle things without God my coach's words come to mind.

"When nobody writes anymore; when hardly anyone even thinks of you or wonders how you are doing; when you are just one of the brothers doing the same things as they are doing, not better or worse; when you have been forgotten by people – maybe then your heart and mind have become empty enough to give God a real chance to let his presence be known to you."

As I wander down the path, God's presence is with me, I feel it just as you feel the shirt on your back.

I am walking with God.

How are you doing?

Are you running a one-man relay race or are you walking with the Big guy?

Something to ponder.

Blessing,

Roger

 

We live in the here and now. This is where life is.

Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

My traveling companion and I have been having some really good conversations, when I mean good, I mean deep and insightful. I have never been that "so what do you think about the weather" kind of guy. This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. When I am with a person that likes to talk about deep meaningful and insightful things we have a great conversation, a conversation that continues to build and form even after it is over. When I am with a "so what do you think about the weather" person, I tend to aggravate them. 

The person (I will name him Bill, just to give the story more flavor) will say, "So Roger, what do you think about the weather?"

I will say, "Oh, I think it is quite nice, don't you?"

Bill will often reply, "Yes, I love a beautiful day, and aren't the clouds nice?"

This is usually where things derail.

I will say something to the effect of, "Yes, I really like clouds. Tell me do you like clouds, and which cloud is your favorite? I really don't have a favorite:

There are times when a nice Cirrus Cloud really makes me smile, and there are times when an Altocumulus cloud does the trick, Cumulus clouds are like a pillow and those stratocumulus clouds are amazing. 

Did you know, there are three different kinds of Cirrus clouds?

There are Cirrocumulus, they are high clouds with a puffy, patchy appearance and small spaces between the clouds. they often form wavy patterns. 

There are Cirrostratus clouds, these are the high clouds that are light gray, or white, they are thin though, and you can see the Sun or moon through them. They usually cover most of the sky.

There are Altocumulus clouds, these are the middle clouds that have a puffy patchy appearance with spaces in between, they look like cotton balls. 

There are Alto......Bill, where did you go?"

I wonder where Bill went!

That is what usually happens to my "so what do you think about the weather" conversations.

When I told this to my traveling companion, she said, "Roger, I love you, but you really can be a jerk sometimes!" 

I just smiled, and gave her that ya, I know look; because it was true. 

We are still in the forest.

The path isn't scary, it is quite pretty. It curved up ahead and never let us look too far ahead. I realize now it was training me to not be so "far future" focused. I have gotten better at being in the here and now. It is good to look a bit into the future, but not too far. It is much better to be present in the here and now. That is where we are living. 

We no longer live in the past, and we don't live in the future.  

We live in the here and now. This is where life is. 

We had stumbled into an open spot, and I was really quite proud of myself. While it was possible to look way ahead on the path, I didn't. I noticed the openness of the area and the ability to look way ahead. I took a quick glance but didn't stay there. I averted my gaze to a point in the near future and looked at that. All the while maintaining my present self. 

That was a good moment.

If I can say anything to you at all it is this, "don't focus on far future things, it is a mirage. Definitely, don't focus on the past, it is dead and gone. Live in the here and now, this is where life is." 

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger