God | Russellings of the Spirit

Posts Tagged ‘God

Mar

“Have a Nice Day!”

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: God, love, Jesus Christ, community, neighbor, forgive, excellence, nice, loving, sacifice

It sounds so simple. So basic. So dripping with common sense.

“Be nice.”

I saw this phrase emblazoned on the front of my granddaughter’s T-shirt the other day and immediately replied, “YES! Of course!”

But then I tried actually DOING it.

Not so easy after all, as it turns out.

I discovered that being nice is not the same thing as being a smiling, passive doormat that invites everyone to wipe their muddy feet on. It is not a matter of offering a cheery, “Have a nice day!” when some Crabby Appleton slams the door in your face.

Being nice is probably a kissing cousin to the practice of being loving. And as we all know, being loving is what got Jesus nailed to a cross between two thieves.

“Being nice” means seeing the best in people… even when they go out of their way to hide it. It means understanding that the guy who just spat on your political opinions and called you an idiot might be under a lot of pressure at home right now. It means knowing that the angry gesture you just received from the woman in the lane next to you is not the sum total of her identity. It means realizing that she is probably a deep, complex, multi-faceted person with talents and gifts galore.

Seeing the best in people takes work. It requires patience, insight, and the willingness to dig deeper. When you stop to think about it, making snap, surface judgements about other people is a whole lot easier. Isn’t it?

“Being nice” also means being forgiving. It means refusing to nurture the slights and hurt feelings we carry – usually quite justifiably, I might add! – toward someone else. It means abandoning the need to strike back when struck. It means focusing on the future of the relationship instead of dwelling on its past. It means recognizing one’s own flaws. Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. It means being willing to move past the injury into the next chapter.

Forgiving usually takes work, too. Firstly, forgiving is forged on a foundation of faith. Faith in the redeemability of every person. Faith in the power of healing. Faith in God. Faith in the future. Forgiving means taking these words from 2 Peter to heart: “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with excellence, and excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8, NRSVU).

When you stop to think about it, holding on to anger and grudges is a whole lot easier. Isn’t it?

“Being nice” also means actively pursuing justice. It means doing more than just saying, “Tsk, tsk. Isn’t that a shame,” when we see injustice taking place. It means taking concrete ACTION to correct the injustice. It means standing on the side of the wounded one… even when the odds are overwhelmingly against you. It means cultivating a heart that is willing to endure the pain of breaking, again and again. It means stepping up to the religious standards of the prophet Isaiah when he admonishes us, saying, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6, NRSVU).

When you stop to think about it, “minding my own business” is a whole lot easier. Isn’t it?

No. “Being nice” (or loving, as Jesus might put it) is not for the faint-of-heart. And it is certainly not something I can do under my own steam. It entails a whole lot more than the catchy T-shirt slogan lets on. “Being nice” is the dictionary definition of the “narrow gate,” vs. the “wide road,” and therefore not terribly appealing.

But it IS what we are called to when we are called to follow Christ.

Have a “nice” day!

Abundant blessings;

Mar

Busted Truster

By revruss1220 3 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: anchor, belief, faith, God, Jesus Christ, mistrust, Proverbs 3:5-6, skepticism, trust

Who do you trust?

Stop for a minute and really mull that question over.

Because trust is the glue that holds our world together.

For example, I trust that the funny-looking green piece of paper in my wallet can be exchanged for food, gasoline, grass seed, or a movie ticket. I trust that the driver there to my left will apply his brakes when his traffic light turns from green to yellow to red. I trust that the water coming out of my tap is clean and germ-free. I trust that the people flying the plane I just boarded are thoroughly trained and capable of getting me safely from Denver to Kansas City…

… or wherever.

And most of the time, I trust the integrity of the people around me. Sure, there is the occasional scoundrel who takes advantage of my trust. And when I meet that rare scoundrel, I reprimand myself, make note of the lessons to be learned, and move ahead… trusting people once again.

Leaders fall into a slightly different category, trustwise. Skepticism is the toll to be paid for the privilege of standing in front of others, pointing toward the horizon, and beckoning them to follow you. Followership is built on trust and that trust must be earned.

Trust is a funny thing. Most often it is built on past experience. “It happened that way yesterday, so it will probably happen that way again today.” When trust is extended, however, it is always in reference to something in the FUTURE. Trust is the thing helps us make the next right decision or take the next right step.

As you can see, trust has been on my mind a lot lately. One reason is because trust seems to be a commodity that is in increasingly short supply these days. We are blessed (cursed?) to find ourselves living in “interesting” times… times that leave us scrambling to find precedents for the events and experiences we’re encountering.

Institutions keep letting us down. Whether it is the political institutions, the economic, the educational, or the cultural institutions… including the institutional church. Trust in their ability to protect and guide us is at an all-time low.

Leaders keep letting us down. I am not sure this point needs much additional elaboration, but just as a little thought experiment, stop a moment and complete this sentence: “The leader I really trust today is: ___________________.”

Is it any wonder that record numbers of people are succumbing to the “diseases of despair” as they are called: drug addiction and suicide?

Is it any wonder that many of us are drawn magnetically to endless, mind-numbing forms of entertainment? We seem to reach out desperately for anything that will help us avoid thinking too long or too deeply about the state of the world around us.

I know what my answer – as a self-described man of faith – is supposed to be right now. I know that I am called to invite you to trust God. To lean on God’s eternal promises. To point out God’s spotless history of redeeming and rescuing everyone who has leaned on God for help. I am called to quote AT LEAST Joshua 1:5 to you, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you,” followed perhaps by a quick shot of Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

And yes, I believe everything I wrote in that last paragraph – with my whole heart. I trust God and God’s promises. I have seen the reliability of them in my own life, in the lives of others, as well as in the witness of history and scripture.

My struggle today is how to effectively encourage others toward that same trust. When people struggle to put their trust in what they HAVE seen, how will they decide to trust a God they CAN’T see? Even though we live in an age of skepticism, I believe most people desperately want to find a reliable, trustworthy anchor to tie their lifeboat to. They want to believe there is a foundation that stands firm when everything around it is shaking, cracking, and crumbling. I firmly believe there resides in every human heart a hunger to connect with a Source that loves them, will always be there for them, and will always speak truth to them.

Sadly, for a lot of people, their “truster” has been damaged one time too many and they aren’t going to risk trusting anyone (or anything) ever again.

To even the most downhearted, untrusting, cynical ones among us I want to say, “Trust God completely.” Grip the words of Psalm 30:5 tightly with both hands and remind yourself; “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Abundant blessings;

Feb

Plug In!

By revruss1220 5 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: battery, energy, fuel, gas, God, Jesus Christ, life, Matthew 11:28-30, power

Today I am pleased to announce that after three years of diligent, post-retirement searching, I’ve finally FOUND MY PURPOSE!

It has been a long, tedious process. I’ve looked high and low. Within and without. I have consulted mystics, tea leaves, and gurus galore.

Finally, at long last, my new Reason for Being has become crystal clear. My search has revealed that my new role in life is RECHARGER.

To clarify, my purpose is recharging if you judge purpose by the amount of time a person spends doing a thing. Because I sure do spend an enormous amount of time recharging the things in my life that need recharging.

Of course, there is my iPhone. Gotta charge it every day.

The FitBit on my wrist can go a little longer than that, but it still needs a regular recharge.

The Bluetooth device I use when I listen to podcasts at the gym doesn’t run on steam power! It also has to be recharged.

When summer rolls around (as I have faith it will. Eventually), I have the lawn mower battery, the string trimmer battery and now the new battery pack for my drill and power saw I have to keep tabs on.

And now, since this past October, I have added a couple more devices to my recharge list. Because of some chronic and long-term lower back issues, I am now the proud owner of a surgically implanted spinal cord stimulator! Thanks, Medtronic!

There is a battery pack inside my left buttock cheek attached to two wires that run up either side of my spine. Their purpose is to short-circuit pain impulses and allow me to do things like go on mission trips, play softball, and pick things up off the floor, all without writhing in pain.

But like all modern miracles, this wonderful device also requires regular recharging.

So far, I am proud to report a minimum of recharging fails in the last year or so. [A fail – by the way – is when your device goes completely dead. Zero power.]

Yes, here in Russell World, recharging is a full-time job. As I gain expertise in the subject, however, I’m beginning to wonder if it might be time to widen my circle of influence a bit.

Maybe – I think, drumming reflective fingers on my chin as I turn the concept over in my mind –maybe it is time to start trying to figure out how to recharge PEOPLE!

Because in case you haven’t noticed, people’s batteries run down, too. Physical stamina is finite. The energy to care ultimately peters out. The mental juices needed to solve sticky interpersonal problems has a definite limit. The power supply that drives creativity needs regular topping up.

The tricky part is that none of those come with the cute little graphic that tells us – at a glance – how much gas we have left in the tank. We go and push and go and push until suddenly it’s all gone. We fall to the floor. We crumple in a heap. We turn to dust…

… until we pop up the next day and do it all over again.

I would dearly love to lend my recharging experience to the depleted ones in our midst. But the truth is, I have never been very good at the task of recharging ME. For too much of my life, I have burned the candle at both ends… eagerly (some would say anxiously) trying to prove my worth to some unseen, critical panel of judges.

I have regularly passed his words on to others. But too seldom have I stopped and seriously listened to Jesus when he sought to assure me, saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NRSVU).

Whoever would have suspected that the best battery charger ever invented walked the earth over 2,000 years ago?

Abundant blessings;

Feb

A Changed Life

By revruss1220 3 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: change, God, Guatemala, Jesus Christ, John 3:3, life, new, Nicodemus, perspective, transform

Several years ago, Joan and I took a little vacation trip to Orcas Island.

In case you are not familiar with it, Orcas Island is located squarely in the middle of the Straits of Juan de Fuca in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington. It is a beautiful place where you’ll find trees, mountains, waterways, charming shops, quirky, creative restaurants, and friendly, engaging people.

It’s so quaint it’s practically Canadian.

We stayed in a spacious room at a local bed and breakfast. Our room featured a wrap-around balcony where we could sit out, drink coffee, and contemplate the miracle of God’s creative genius.

During our time there, we shared this bucolic place with two other couples. As you do at B&Bs, we crossed paths with those couples at the breakfast table. After exchanging introductions, we began swapping notes about our favorite parts of the whole Orcas Island experience.

One couple – I don’t remember their names, but let’s call them Fred and Ethel, just for fun – absolutely RAVED about their experiences with tandem ocean kayaking around the island. No, Fred and Ethel did not RENT a kayak from a local outfitter. They OWNED their own.

At one point Fred explained their enchantment with ocean kayaking by saying, “You know… we came up here about five years ago and rented a tandem ocean kayak. And it CHANGED OUR LIVES.”

Joan and I smiled, nodded politely, and shared our experiences about one of the local hikes. But when we got back to our room, I’m sad to admit that we got a little catty. We stopped, looked at one another and said,“Really? Tandem ocean kayaking changed your LIFE? Really??”

Since that time – thanks to Fred and Ethel – I have tried to be especially cognizant of the things I describe as “life-changing.” For me, the bar must be set a bit higher than finding a cool new hobby. For example…

Falling in love? Life changing.
Becoming a parent? Yes. Also, life changing.
Accepting Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life? Absolutely life changing!
Tucking in to a transcendently delicious peach cobbler? Splendid, yes. But not life changing.

In order to say a thing was life changing, something profound and elemental about WHO I AM must shapeshift from THIS to THAT. According to my concise rulebook, a person needs to be able to paint a vivid “Before” and “After” picture of their entire identity and self-understanding before they may use this weighty, loaded phrase.

And it is with this background in mind that I dare to proclaim to you that my first trip to Guatemala was truly life changing.

It was a trip I took with 11 other seminary students in 2003. It was called an Immersion Trip because the purpose of the trip was to immerse ourselves in the baptismal waters of the stories of the people of Guatemala. From their bloody history of the 36-year-long civil war, to their long litany of exploitation by the American government, to the rich, proud indigenous Mayan culture, to the crushing poverty of 90% of the population, to their endlessly buoyant spirits…

… that trip met all the criteria to justify the label “life changing.”

I went down as one person and returned as someone else entirely. And oddly enough, something very similar happens every time I return there.

Joan and I just got back from spending a week on a humanitarian mission to Guatemala. It was a week that gave us new eyes. New hearts. New minds. And certainly, new backs and hands because of the work we did there.

Along the way, I discovered another quirky quality about life change; that is, its impermanence.

How often does it happen that we are catapulted out of our familiar orbit, only to fall prey – once again – to the gravitational pull of old habits, old mindsets, old routines, and old beliefs?

All of which brings me to the subject of Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. Lent is a time set aside in the church calendar to stop… take stock… turn around… and to recalibrate.

Lent is not just about giving up chocolate or alcohol. It is about being ritually reminded to look at the entirety of our lives and to dare to ask, “Why do I think that?” “Why do I DO that?” “Why am I attracted to that?” “Why does that occupy such an important place in my life,” and “Does it really deserve that place of prominence?”

Yes. Change is hard. They say that babies in wet diapers are the only ones who actually like change.

But it’s kind of like what Jesus told the priest, Nicodemus during their famous midnight meeting: “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (John 3:3, NRSVU).

Happy Lent, and abundant blessings;

Feb

Straining Forward

By revruss1220 8 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: awe, blessing, creation, Dogs, God, granted, Jesus Christ, Lamentations 3, miracle, open, Patrick, reminders, Rosie, splendor, wonder

Look at these dogs. It is safe to say – with absolutely zero bias whatsoever – that you are looking at a picture of The Best Dogs in the World.

This picture shows Rosie (on the left, with the red leash) and Patrick, the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers.

I took this picture as we were headed out on our Saturday walk through the neighborhood.

As fond as I am of these lovable furballs, what I most hope you notice about this picture is not them, but rather their LEASHES. Do you see how tightly pulled they are? Do you get a sense of the way I am nearly being pulled off my feet as they are straining forward, eager to take the next step on this magical journey?

By the looks of it, you might think they had just landed in some new, exotic location, full of heretofore unseen sights, unsmelled smells, and pristine adventures, all eagerly waiting to be trod upon by their eight excited paws.

But no. If you thought that, you would be mistaken.

This is just our normal, daily walking route through the neighborhood. On a sidewalk, past trees and bushes and houses they have seen hundreds of times before.

And yet, despite the utterly quotidian nature of this jaunt, can you see how they are bursting with enthusiasm?

I think Rosie and Patrick are trying to teach me something here. Something, that is, besides the importance of keeping a firm grip on their leashes.

I think they are trying to teach me that life is meant to be an adventure.

I think they are trying to teach me that regardless of how familiar I am with any place or person, that there is always more to be discovered.

I think they are trying to teach – and remind me – of the gravity of the sin of taking any moment for granted… assuming that I have nothing new to discover.

I think they want to teach me to be humble in the face of the ever-unfolding wonder of God’s creative genius and to try and train myself to live life on tiptoe, anticipating awe around every corner.

I think they want me to remember this verse from the book of Lamentations where we are reminded: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are newevery morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23, NRSVU).

So many important lessons to be learned from these furry theologians.

Either that or they just saw a bunny hop across the street.

Abundant blessings;

Jan

The Gift of Candles

By revruss1220 2 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: birthday, blessing, calling, dad, faith, family, gift, God, heritage, influence, Jesus Christ, mentor, mom, relocating, Seattle, teacher, timing

They say… you know, the all-knowing, all-seeing THEY… that timing is everything.

As is usually the case, they have indulged in a wee bit of literary hyperbole to make a point. The point that TIMING is a really, really important thing.

Comedians, trapeze artists, and base stealers in baseball will each readily endorse the truth of their words.

But as I have found out on more than one occasion, KNOWING a thing and ACTING on that knowledge are vastly different things. I am that guy who, just the other day, ran out to our curb with a big armload of cardboard, only to find out that I had JUST MISSED the recycling truck. I am also the guy who remembers to text his spouse that we are out of eggs immediately AFTER she has left the grocery store.

For a long time, I also clung to the story that God’s timing of my call to the ministry was WAAAY off target. It seemed to me that the Almighty really blew a chance to catch me at the peak of my powers. I wondered… why didn’t God tap me on the shoulder back when I was super-charged with health and vitality? Back when I would have eagerly worked like a draft horse to help spread the Good News?

And so today, in addition to these musings about TIMING, I am also thinking about my dad. Today would have been his 96^th birthday. He died six years ago, just two days past his 90^th birthday. I relate these two subjects in my mind because I have often wondered if I inherited my “timing challenges” from dad.

With a birth year of 1928, dad wasn’t quite old enough to actively fight in World War II. So, while all my buddies were sitting around swapping stories about how their dads fought at this battle in France, or that skirmish in the Pacific, I had to just sit quietly and listen. Dad did serve in the Army in Okinawa in ’46 and ’47, but strictly as part of the post-war occupying American force.

I also thought his timing of hearing his own call to the ministry was pretty off-target, too. You see, he graduated from seminary one year prior to my graduation from high school. And because of that timing, our family ended up moving from Columbus, Ohio to his first church in the suburbs of Seattle the summer before my senior year.

Oh, the TRAUMA! Oh, the INJUSTICE! Oh, the HEARTBREAK!

[Then again, as the father of five children, I have to admit that dad’s timing in some things wasn’t too bad!]

Today, however, I find I am able to sit here and thank God for the gift of perspective that comes with my multiple fistfuls of birthday candles. Because of those candles, I am able to see and give thanks that my father did NOT have to face live bullets in the war.

Those candles also help me now be grateful for the new friends, new experiences, and new outlooks that came as a result of my family’s cross-country relocation.

And as far as the timing of my own call to the ministry, I can now say that God’s timing turned out to be absolutely PERFECT! I realize now that God allowed me to simmer and percolate and accumulate a whole quiver full of life experience that – I hope – enriched my ministry in ways that wouldn’t have been possible with the younger Russell.

Like 100% of the rest of us, dad was flawed. He struggled with his temper. He could be a little heavy-handed with his discipline sometimes. He was a bit sartorially challenged. In his later years, he was drawn in by far too many of those, “As Seen on TV” miracle products.

But the gift of perspective has finally helped me see past all of that to the kind, generous, compassionate, wise, and God-fearing man dad truly was. After I entered the ministry, he became a priceless mentor to me during some of the low points and aggravations that often come with the job.

I hope my timing is not TOO far off here, but please forgive me, dad, for failing to appreciate all the different ways you blessed and encouraged me while you were here. My grandest aspiration is to become even HALF the blessing to my family and to the world that you were to us.

I love you.

Abundant blessings;

Jan

Captain Obvious

By revruss1220 3 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Christmas, God, Jesus Christ, obvious

I don’t usually do this, but what the heck! It’s a new year, so why not start it by doing something different?

I will rudely ask: What did YOU get for Christmas?

I ask you that question for the same reason most people do: because I am bursting with excitement to tell you what Santa brought me!

Sure, there was the power tool battery and charger (thanks, kids. Love it!), and the thermal blanket for my smoker (so Joan and I can have some delicious ribs, even in the dead of winter), and a HARMONICA from my beloved.

But here is a picture of my favorite present of all: My CAPTAIN OBVIOUS SOCKS!

I love this present a LOT. Mainly because it is a present that showed some genuine insight by the giver of the person on the receiving end.

Because I AM Captain Obvious. Long before he became a character in the GEICO commercials, Captain Obvious was my alter-ego.

I am that guy who will turn to you in the fourth quarter of the football game and say, “You know, if we want to win, we’re going to have to score more points than them.”
I am the guy who pours out the last glass of orange juice and says, “Looks like we need some more!”
I am also the guy who walks outside, feels the droplets on his head and ventures forth with, “Hmmmm. It’s raining.”

Believe me… I could continue listing examples that further establish my Captain O bonafides, but we’ll hold it there with those three.

See, it’s not easy being Captain Obvious. For obvious reasons. People usually greet your prescient insights with such retorts as, “Duh!” Or “No kidding?” Or by sarcastically restating your name with, “Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

But here is the thing: over the years, I have discovered there are a few things that SHOULD be obvious that really aren’t.

It is not always obvious, for example, that misfortunes seem much worse when we are right in the middle of them than they do with the benefit of hindsight. When Marsha Westbrook told me in the sixth grade, for example, that she didn’t want to be my girlfriend anymore, it felt like the end of the world.

It wasn’t.

Not even close.

Or when my cute, little advertising and public relations company went belly up in 1997, it cut me to the core. It was my LIFE! It was my IDENTITY! But it was also the thing that was keeping me from answering the real call God had on my life.

I also think it is (or should be) perfectly obvious to every person alive that they were created by an infinitely loving Being… a Sentient Being which continues to love them completely, unconditionally, relentlessly, and irrationally. The evidence of that astonishing love – in my humble opinion – is EVERYWHERE! Even a casually opened pair of eyes should be able to see it, shouldn’t they?

But alas… no.

Millions and millions of people today will wake up, walk through their day, and lay their head down tonight believing they are nothing more than a randomly assembled group of atoms, totally at the mercy of an aloof, uncaring universe.

And so, at the risk of restating the painfully obvious, I will continue my quest. When they are behind, I will tell my teams to get busy and score more points. I will suggest a trip to the store for more orange juice (or milk, or peanut butter, or laundry detergent) whenever I encounter an empty container. I will suggest an umbrella to deal with the current downpour…

… I will also keep reminding you and you and YOU that even when it is NOT obvious, you nevertheless are unique, unrepeatable miracles of creation, sustained by a God who gave everything to express his love for you.

Duh. Obviously.

Abundant blessings;

Nov

Remembering

By revruss1220 9 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: candles, Christmas, forget, God, grace, holy, Jesus Christ, love, mercy, remember, reminder

“I’m sorry. I forgot.”

If I had a shiny new quarter for every time I’ve uttered those words in my life, I would be a moderately well-off man.

And although I am getting up there in total birthdays, I can’t blame this forgetfulness on my age. I have suffered this affliction for a long time.

I don’t discriminate in my forgetting. It doesn’t matter whether it is a birthday, the last location of my car keys, the first name of someone I just met, the capital of Vermont, or what I had for lunch yesterday. Anything and everything is likely to slip through the holes of my sieve-like brain.

It is sad. It is often embarrassing. It is something I would love to do something about.

But you know what? I strongly suspect I am not the Lone Ranger in this.

In fact, the act of forgetting seems to be almost as central to the human condition as, say, walking upright or possessing opposable thumbs.

In the Old Testament section of the Bible, we regularly see God acting in miraculous, supernatural ways on behalf of the Israelites. But it only takes a minute after God turns the Nile River into blood, for the Israelites to go back to their old complaining, contentious ways. Over and over and over again, God has to tap them on the shoulder and say, “Remember? Remember back when you were slaves in Egypt and I came to your rescue? Remember that whole ‘parting the Red Sea’ thing? Yeah. That was me.”

Fast forward to the New Testament and we see Jesus breaking bread with the disciples just before his arrest and persecution, telling them, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19, NRSV).

It is because of our unlimited capacity to forget that we need four candles to remind us that God’s incarnation in Jesus is about love, and joy, and peace, and faith. It is because of our Swiss Cheese brains that we need evergreen wreaths to remind us that God is eternal, with no beginning, middle or end. We give gifts to others at this time of year, yes, as a way of telling them how much they mean to us, but also as a way of remembering that God’s love is a pure, undiluted GIFT we’ve done nothing to earn.

For some, this season is a time of joy. For others, it is a time of stress and overwork. For others, it is a season of sorrow, bringing painful reminders of loved ones who are no longer with them.

I pray that whatever this time of year is for you, that it is first and foremost a time to remember the reckless extravagance of God’s love for this world and for YOU specifically.

Abundant blessings;

Nov

Left-Handed

By revruss1220 5 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: diversity, God, hate, Jesus Christ, leadership, lgbtq, love, sacrifice, unconditional

I am left-handed.

[I’m not really, but play along with me here. OK?]

I was born this way.

Very early in life, my parents noticed my left-handedness and were ashamed. They believed it reflected poorly on their skills as parents. “Your brothers and sisters are all right-handed. Why can’t you be more like them,” they regularly implored me.

As I went through school, I saw that, unlike me, most of my classmates were right-handed. My teachers assumed all of us were, so they gave the whole class instructions based on that assumption.

(If they could have, I think some of those teachers would have tried to change me from a right-hander to a left-hander.)

It all made me feel like an oddball or outsider. It made me feel as if I was some kind of mistake. Like I didn’t belong.

Sometimes I saw another left-handed kid at school. When I did, I got really excited. I would smile at them and give a timid little wave. Sometimes they waved back. Sometimes they didn’t.

As I grew older, I found that the world contained a lot more people like me. Sure, there were still a lot of people who believed there was something essentially wrong with left-handers. So, it wasn’t always safe to come right out and be the person I was made to be. You could never tell who might be accepting and who might not be.

Over time though, I became more and more comfortable with my left-handedness. I found large communities of left-handers where I could relax, enjoy myself, and not worry at all about acceptance. We all shared similar stories and understood the struggles the others faced.

Sure, there were still the occasional bullies, bigots, and ignoramuses to deal with. But I recognized them as people who were full of insecurity about the world around them… resulting, no doubt, from childhood trauma. I did not enjoy being around them, but I resolved not to allow them to control my feelings, my movements, or my love of life.

And then it happened. The tide turned.

It started with leaders on the national stage. It began when those leaders realized they could turn more heads, open more eyes, raise more money, and gain more votes by generating fear rather than by casting visions. So, they found scapegoats. They created straw men and women. They pinned the blame for a widespread sense of unsettledness on groups of people who were DIFFERENT. Different, meaning, different from the leaders themselves.

People like left-handers.

Just when I started feeling that I could breathe easily and walk the street with my head up, the whole world exploded. The toxic stew of instability and blaming led a handful of unstable people to take matters into their own hands.

They lashed out. They picked up guns and started shooting. They went after the people they had been told were to blame for the miserable state of their lives.

They went straight for the left-handers.

And yes, in the aftermath of that horror, most of those unstable people were caught and jailed. Or else they turned the guns upon themselves.

But the problem isn’t solved. The fear lives on. The blaming and scapegoating continue because it still “moves the needle” in the eyes of some leaders. Enemies, they tell us, must be named so the rest of us can be safe.

We continue to live in a place where difference is feared, not valued. Where homogeneity is expected. Where diversity is considered dangerous.

Dear God, save us, because we appear unable to save ourselves. Vitalize the law of love with the force of justice. Redeem our tragedy by allowing it to lead to meaningful change. Shape our leaders into your image of sacrificial service and humility. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Abundant blessings;

Nov

Why I Pray

By revruss1220 3 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: belief, blessings, communication, connection, disciple, discipline, ephemeral, ethereal, God, healing, Jesus Christ, magic, power, prayer, supernatural

Back in the day, (to be perfectly honest, WAAAAY back in the day), the group Lovin’ Spoonful sang a song that asked the musical question, “Do you believe in magic?”

If John Sebastian and his bandmates asked me that today, I would have to say, “NO. Frankly, I don’t.”

That is because my rational, scientific brain tells me that quarters don’t somehow mysteriously appear in my ear, rabbits – not previously residing inside a top hat – don’t suddenly materialize there. I also know there is an entirely plausible explanation for why the man in the black cape astonishingly knows which card I secretly selected.

No. While I do enjoy watching it, I don’t believe in magic.

I do, however, believe in the power of prayer.

Hearing me speak that last sentence out loud might prompt a skeptic to stand up and proclaim, “Balderdash! That’s a contradiction!” They would then go on to explain that there is no rational, scientific connection between my inaudible pleadings to an invisible, supernatural power and some hoped-for outcome. Furthermore, they would go on to stridently declare that any IMAGINED connection between the two is pure illusion.

They would then likely conclude by patting me on the head condescendingly and saying, “But if it makes you feel better to do that kind of thing, go right ahead, sport. I suppose it doesn’t hurt anyone.”

To which I would reply, “Not so fast there my skeptical friend.” While it DOES deal with invisible, often inexplicable realms of reality, prayer is not magic.

Magic is unnatural. Meaning it defies nature.

Prayer is SUPERnatural. Meaning that it stands outside and above the natural order.

Praying is predicated on the belief that – though we cannot see it or even remotely understand it – there is SOMETHING that exists beyond the reach of limited, flawed, flesh and blood humans.

Prayer is also based on the conviction that the character of this SOMETHING is benevolent… even to the point of being able to be called LOVING.

Finally, the practice of prayer rests on the understanding that communication can be established between HERE and THERE… between the EPHEMERAL and the ETHEREAL… between the VISIBLE and the INVISIBLE.

And since I am firmly on board with all three of those propositions, I pray.

Sometimes I pray for an outcome or a resolution to a problem I am facing.

Sometimes my prayers consist of silently spitballing solutions.

Entirely too infrequently, my prayers are lists of things I am grateful for today.

On even rarer occasions my prayer takes the form of silent listening.

Seeing this list, you might be inclined to ask, “So… does it work?”

What you might mean with this question is, “Does your prayer generally bring you the outcome you were seeking?” If that is what you mean, I would have to answer, “No. Not always.”

But if instead you mean, “Does your praying succeed in renewing your sense that there is a connection between you and that loving, benevolent SOMETHING you talked about earlier?” I would hasten to answer, “Why yes! Almost always.”

And when that connection is renewed, the funniest thing happens. Suddenly I am able to see the problem I was trying to solve, or the person I was trying to influence, or the mood I was trying to lift in an entirely new light.

I suddenly see them each in the light of eternity.

Abundant blessings;

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