Enchanted Noel

We began our Advent series last Sunday, Enchanted Noel. Here's what it's about.

God has a story. We are a part of it. Maybe a small part. This story begins, of course, with creation and then the Garden of Eden. This place, the Garden in Eden, was a remarkable place. It was very good. It was a place of abundance, beauty, a place where God walked around. People lived there without sin. And without clothes, because there was no shame. It was heaven on earth. Heaven and earth overlapped there in the Garden. God wanted his special creatures, the ones made in his image, to expand this goodness and abundance around the rest of the earth. But before they could even get started, our first parents fell to temptation. They reached out to take the knowledge of good and bad, rather than seeking wisdom from God. And they were kicked out of the Garden.

No wonder humanity longs for connection with the supernatural.

Ever since then, God has been working his plan to bring heaven to earth. This is what Advent is all about. God himself came to this world to bring the kingdom of God here: “on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s presence brings a different quality to creation. He infuses it with his beauty and power.

This season our series of messages is “Enchanted Noel.” When I speak of enchantment in this context, I’m not talking about magic and spells or superpowers. I’m talking about qualities of this world that go far beyond the material. We step into this world beyond the material when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper: the Body of Christ, the Blood of Christ. There is more to these elements than bread and juice. There is a supernatural reality that we are all part of. I want to call our attention to this spiritual realm. This season begs us to look beyond molecules and photons to meaning and love.

On the one hand, let’s recognize that the dominant Western world view today is “science.” If you deny science, you are stupid, backward, and superstitious. The material world is the “real world.” This is a real bias of modern thought. Anything beyond the material is soft, squishy, and suspect.

It helps us to realize that this perspective is unique in human history. Most people for most of history have had a great deal of respect for the supernatural world. Sometimes that respect has led people astray, but not always.

But this material worldview cannot speak to some of life’s most important elements: meaning and love.

This is why we need Christmas. Even before Christ, there were winter festivals, feasts of celebration as days grew shorter and darker. Today in the West, we scientific people set that material perspective aside and we seek wonder and surprise and the intangible. We call it “Christmas spirit.”

We can look more closely at this world. Even this material world is full of mystery. We look farther and farther into space, and we find more and more mystery. We look deeper and deeper into the properties of matter, and we find mystery there too.

While we tend to focus on science, let's note that on the other hand, God communicates through story. The Bible is not a fact manual. Everything in the Bible has to be understood in the context of story. We speak of the Christmas story, not the Christmas timeline or formula or policy. God communicates through story because story leans on relationship. And God wants relationship. He wants relationship with you.

So he puts you in a story, in this enchanted world. It’s a story of love and redemption. It’s a world in which heaven works to overlap with earth. The more we tune into heaven, the more heaven comes to earth. “On earth as it is in heaven.”

God’s greatest work of bringing heaven to earth begins with the Christmas story.

Enchanted Noel

•     December 1 - Longing: The Prophets
•     December 8 - Watching: Simeon and Anna in the Temple
•     December 15 - Believing: The Magi
•     December 22 - Receiving: Mary and Joseph

Helene's New World

Friday morning I was delighted to see the sun come out. The fringes of Helene had blown through here with bands of windy showers. It was so good that the storm was past. Friday afternoon I was checking on livestock and erosion at the Garrett Family Farm. There were a few limbs down, and the ground was saturated. About what I expected. As I harvested some watermelons and tomatoes, it started to sprinkle again. No big deal. Then my phone alarm went off: Tornado Warning! The sprinkles got harder. I wasn't sure what to do as I climbed in my truck. My 4-wheel drive easily took me around some fields up toward the highway. But the radio repeated the civil alert announcement. A tornado warning was issued for Western Rockingham County. Doppler radar showed possible tornadic activity in Ellisboro, Madison, Mayodan, Wentworth, Intelligence. In other words, I was in the bullseye. If I left the farm, I would be going toward one of those communities. 

Fortunately the alert told me what to do. "If you are in a vehicle, seek shelter in the most substantial structure available to avoid flying debris." So I pulled the truck around to my hay barn. I sat by the bales, under the shelter, singing and praying aloud. I waited out the warning while the rain rattled the tin roof. As quickly as it came, the storm moved on. I would find out later that a small tornado touched down in Stoneville, where I had been only an hour before. In 20 minutes the storm dumped 0.8" of rain on my garden. I was so glad when the storm was over.

But the storm is not over. The rain has mostly stopped, but the waters in western NC still fill many streets and still overflow river banks. As they do recede, they are revealing a new world. Towns have been washed away. Homes slid down hills. Houses that remain are filled with mud. Livestock were swept away, many dying downstream. Roads are flooded, washed away, covered with rocks and mud. A day-long enemy air strike could not have done such destruction.

So here we are. Faced with the world left by Helene. Only now are we discovering the destruction. Today, Monday morning, the death toll is nearing 100. Some people are missing and authorities don't even know they are missing. Many communities are utterly cut off from the outside world: no phones, no internet, no roads. So no one knows how bad it is yet.

It's time for some good news. Convoys of power trucks and ambulances are making their way to the disaster. Crews from far-flung states are coming here to help. Neighbors are serving meals, grilling meat from their freezers. The NC National Guard--with other Guard assets from Connecticut, Maryland, Ohio, Iowa, Florida, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania--has been rescuing people and pets. They have moved more than 34,000 pounds of cargo to help victims with food, water, and medical supplies. And they are just getting started.

In these desperate times, our people are pulling together. Neighbors are loving each other. It is such a long road to recovery. Those of us who can help, we need to step up. You will have the opportunity to give, to go cut down trees, to rake out mud, to serve meals, to wash clothes.

I know that Samaritan's Purse, NC Baptists on Mission and many other organizations have already begun operations. 

Western North Carolina will never be the same. Some of my favorite places have been washed away. But we can ask God to redeem this destruction. And we can step in to bring the redemption. We can rebuild roads and structures. And right now we can build relationships through loving, compassionate, sacrificial giving.

Finding Treasures and Leaving Them There

Our family goes to the beach, every year. Lisa and I began our annual beach trips before our kids were born, and, with few exceptions, we have gone every year. Lisa and I like to walk on the beach, and we can't help but look for seashells along the way. It seems like there are always some beautiful shells just hiding in the sand. We squat down and sort through the crunched up remnants of shellfish homes. We almost always find treasures in the chips. 

The treasures, of course, are whole seashells. We find them tiny and large, lots of different colors. And we (almost) always bring them home. We have more seashells than we know what to do with. Lisa uses them brilliantly for home decorating. But we can't possibly use all our shells.

Seashells are meant to be picked up and enjoyed. Why just leave them in the surf?

I notice that a lot of Christians use the Bible that way. They find inspirational verses and pull them out, to put on bumper stickers and stationery. It's like these verses are scattered through boring, irrelevant Bible words, and we just need to dig through to find them. And when we find them, we take them home. We remove them from the author's flow of thought, and we use them for our own purposes. Maybe even decorating our homes.

We consider the context irrelevant. It doesn't matter where we find these treasures. We like what they say to us. Never mind what they meant thousands of years ago.

Maybe we should see Bible verses not as shells to be picked up, but as jewels in a crown. Yes, you could remove the stones from a crown, but part of their beauty is their setting. The gold prongs, and leaves, the depth and relief--all of this brings beauty to the jewels. Without the crown, they are just rocks, beautiful rocks, shiny rocks. But their meaning is diminished.

What if we found treasures in the Bible and left them where we found them? We should look at them often. But when we see them in context, we can really behold their beauty. We have to meditate on the scripture to find its depth. There is always more depth.

We can ask: 

• Who wrote this?
• Who received this?
• What kind of literature is this? A letter? Poetry? History?
• What point is the author making?
• What other Bible passages do we need to keep in mind?

When you find your treasures in the Bible, leave them there and let their beauty radiate.

Waiting for rain

My garden is thirsty. It's been two or three weeks since we've had measurable rain in these parts. The ground is becoming hard, and the lawns are turning brown.

What do you do when you need rain? You irrigate as much as you can. But then you wait. It's all you can do. It's heart breaking to watch crops wither in the field. But still we have to wait. Of course we pray for rain. We have to trust God to bring what we need when we need it. Sometimes that takes a lot of faith, to believe that God has it all under control and that we can truly trust him. But then, what choice do we have?

Today I heard thunder at my house and thunder at my farm. Clouds were all around, but I never saw a drop. It's still cloudy, but I hear no thunder now.

Sometimes when life is dry, we find rainless thunder. A glimmer of hope for relief that turns out to be empty. All we can do is wait and believe that God will provide what we need.

Years ago I talked with a farmer in Georgia during an extended drought. I asked him when he thought it would finally rain again. With a wry smile he said, "I don't know, but it's one day closer than it was yesterday."

Somebody's got to say it

Governments often do bad things. They set things up to benefit the powerful and leads to oppression of the masses. They fail to bring justice and allows people on the margin to suffer. Often government rewards corruption. Someone needs to speak up. 

This is nothing new. Governments have always had such problems. Even good, honorable people can be corrupted when given power. History is full of these stories. The Bible tells plenty of stories of corrupt leaders and unfair economic systems. And the Bible includes voices who call out these abuses.

These voices are the prophets. They are the loyal critics who name names and point out hypocrisy and injustice. Sometimes the prophets' complaints get tiresome. Sometimes they give hope to the oppressed. Most often the prophets are ignored by the people in power. On rare occasions, the powerful hear and respond.

As you read the historical accounts in the Bible, you will find so much corruption in the kings and priests. Keep reading and you will find the prophets who call out the sins and urge the leaders to repent.

We need more voices calling out evil and corruption here today. And I expect every bit of repentance that we found the biblical stories.

Taking Notice

I've been reading my pocket New Testament a lot lately. The page layout is different, but the version is the same one I have used for years. Somehow the stories now feel so fresh to me. I'm noticing new details. I find story threads and repeated phrases. I see the context of Jesus's conversations. I feel like I'm more dialed-in to the author's train of thought.

There is so much depth to the story of the Bible. The more I learn the more I see. The more I understand, the more I experience the depth of God's love. And that helps me live out the Kingdom of God.

I need to notice the words on the page and the heart of the scripture's author. I also need to notice the world around me. God can also speak to me through people who are helping and people who are hurting. He can speak through the frustrations and the successes. Of course he can reveal himself through the vast outdoors. 

There is so much richness in the pages and the world. I just need to take notice.

Tax Day, Free Markets, and Housing Crisis

I have always been an advocate for free markets. Tax Day seems like an appropriate time for some reflections. 

Entrepreneurs should be rewarded for their risk and innovation. Those with property should be allowed to sell it, develop it, or hoard it. The free market seems like the only fair way to allocate resources. And employers and employees can negotiate appropriate wages without the interference of government. If wages are too low, a worker can find another employer who will pay a fair wage. The market is impartial and favors no one. 

Capitalism has served the Western world well, creating wealth like the world has never seen,  bringing new ways of meeting many of life's challenges. This system also allows investors to invest in innovation by purchasing stock. Enterprises can move at greater speed and greater scale thanks to the capital created with shared ownership.

But what happens when the free market goes wrong? Some would say that only interference in the free market causes problems. 

Today we see a growing problem in the housing market. Real estate prices have skyrocketed, while interest rates have moved to the highest levels in decades. That looks like the free market at work. But this free market now has a new kind of player. Investment firms with deep pockets are buying houses at high prices and high volumes. That is, these groups are buying up as much real estate as they can get their hands on. They are holding on to these properties and turning them into rentals. As demand for housing keeps rising, rental rates rise as well. Fewer homes are owned by individuals, giving these investment groups a lot of leverage in the housing market, allowing them to charge more and more rent. Those who don't own property are left with few choices. They have to pay high rent rates just to have a home.

This is the free market at work. The system works great for those with resources, but takes advantage of the poor. 

We are called by Jesus to love our neighbors. We need to find a loving way to help people have a place to live. Seems like the least we could do as a society.

Rethinking Righteousness

Jesus talks a lot about righteousness in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). But what's he talking about? 

I have always thought that righteousness was pretty simple. It's me doing the right thing, keeping the rules, being obedient. The checklist includes things like Bible reading, prayer, helping people, keeping promises, being honest, staying in Christian fellowship. 

In short, righteousness is about me being good. For the most part, it feels like righteousness is just between me and God.

But thanks to the Bible Project's study of the Sermon, I have a clearer understanding of righteousness. It's not just about me being good. It is about me being in right relationship with others. As Tim Mackie says, righteousness is "doing right by you." 

This understanding better captures the meaning of the original words. And we can clearly see that emphasis in other parts of the Sermon. Jesus goes on to say that if there is a problem between you and someone else, you need to chase the person down and make it right. You need to repair the relationship before you even worship. Don't murder, but don't even be angry. Don't commit adultery, but don't even lust. It's all about relationship.

And this tracks well with the second part of the Great Commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. 

So, yes, be righteous. But know that it means making relationships right. It's not just between me and God. We are all in this together. It's the kingdom of heaven.

More Confessions

OK, so my Lent idea of confessing something every day sounded good. But here's my confession today. I haven't been confessing as much as I had planned or expected. 

I'm not quite sure what went wrong. Maybe it was not a great idea to start with. Maybe I just failed to make confession a priority. But God has still been at work. 

Even when we don't follow through, even when we have wrong priorities, even when we get distracted--even then, God is at work. He is at work behind the scenes. He is at work to reveal his love to us, as we discover our own imperfections.

And that's what Lent is about. 

Book review: Devout

Today I picked up Anna Gazmarian's new book Devout: A Memoir of Doubt. I began by reading the foreword, just to get a sense of the work. And it was good. It was so good that I read the whole book today. Learn more about the book here.

(Full disclosure: Anna is my daughter's sister-in-law. I have known her for years, and I knew a good bit of her story already. And I want to cheer her on.)

This book shows one young woman's struggle with church culture and her deep desire to honor God. For some, the Christian life at least appears to be easy, but for Anna it felt all but impossible. She notes how shallow some Christian communities can be, how she tried so hard to fit in. But her own experience did not fit the mold. 

Many churches and Christians could not grasp Anna's challenges with mental health. Well-meaning people urged her to try more prayer, more faith, more Bible reading. But easy answers were simplistic. 

As she tells her story, Anna shares insights from the scripture, showing struggles of faith in the heroes of the faith. Her depth of understanding inspires people like me to keep digging into the riches of relationship with God. 

As a gifted story-teller, Anna takes us with her on her journey. She leans on the Christian community as well as the world of psychiatry. In both spheres she finds those who can help and those who just don't get it. She shows how creativity can connect us with the work of the Spirit in us. She shows us the pain and the rewards of addressing mental health. 

I can think of dozens of people I want to give this book to. It's a real story about a real struggle. It calls out Christian cliches and calls us to take mental health seriously. 

Anna, your story gives us permission to live with doubt and to face our own struggles with mental health. For many, reading your story will be a game-changer.

Change your mind

About something. Change your mind. You "know" some things that are not true. 

So do I. 

So change your mind. I don't know where you are wrong, but I know it's somewhere. I am (cautiously) on the lookout for places where I'm wrong. I do not hold the same opinions at 61 that I held 31. I have learned. And I'm learning.

Just knowing that I have some wrong opinions helps me hold my opinions more loosely. When I encounter people who see the world differently from me, I remind myself that their experiences are far different from mine. I might (probably would) share their opinions if I had walked in their shoes.

Being willing to see things from another perspective softens my heart. It helps me not be so dogmatic or judgmental. I do agree that there are absolute truths. I think I have found some of them. But I try to give myself the freedom to rethink, to take into account new information, to consider another point of view. Even about those absolutes, I want to hold those perspectives graciously.

And that's the most important thing about dialing back the dogmatism: It allows for kindness. Even when we disagree, we can be kind. Maybe even when we are angry we can be kind.

So today I encourage you: Change your mind. About something. Maybe something small, like "People who drive Chevrolets are idiots." Just start changing your mind. It might open up a whole new world.

And yeah, this is my Chevy and my rooster.

Oscar tone

I have been cynical about the Oscars. A bunch of self-important people live out a popularity contest while the little people fawn all over them. At least that's how it has so often seemed to me. And obviously I have not gone out of my way to see every Oscar moment every year.

But this year's Academy Awards show has a different vibe to it. OK, it's only an hour into the show, but the attitudes of the actors has been so refreshing. They seem to be more humble, more interested in other people. They just seem more sincere to me.

I did watch the red carpet segment before the show, where they interview the stars, and that's where I first noticed a hint of humility. Maybe a hint is all they can risk, but I still find it refreshing.

There is still more time for pride and vanity, but thanks, Hollywood, for reminding us that you are real people.

Deep Lent

During the season of Lent, we are encouraged to contemplate Jesus's journey leading to the cross. It is 40 days long, helping us think about his time of temptation in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry. We also recall his suffering as encountered all kinds of opposition. 

As Richard Rohr notes in Falling Upward, Jesus did seem to find the most pushback from the rich and the religious. The rich could not reach a place of actually needing God's help, and the religious believed that they were doing just fine, thank you, without Jesus's rocking the boat. 

Lent is a good time to look in the mirror and see if I am like the rich or religious. They were the ones for whom the system was working. They had all their material needs taken care of, and they had their spiritual needs covered with their religious practices. Yet they were the ones who often resented Jesus. 

Jesus reached out to the poor and the non-religious. Jesus found that they were more receptive to his message. They could see their need. The system was not working for them. They were desperate. They were poor in spirit and marginalized. 

So during this season, I need to recognize my own complacency, my own satisfaction with the status quo. I need to see that I am surely missing out on something deeper. I need to recognize my reluctance to enter the kingdom of God, my reluctance to love my enemies and restore relationships and make peace.  

This is a time to go deeper. I need it.

Lunar Bad Luck

On February 22, 2024 a spacecraft landed on the moon. This was the first moon landing of an American craft since Apollo 17 in 1972. There was lots of celebration for the mission. The craft Odysseus was sent to the moon in a cooperative effort of NASA and Intuitive Machines, a Texas-based company.

But unfortunately, one of the legs of the lander failed, and the machine toppled over. The craft's solar panels could not be turned to face the sun, and the batteries failed all too quickly. A few images were beamed back to earth, but that was all the mission could do. The lander had six legs, which seems like more than enough for the job, but alas, it was not.

The mission was a success in that it did land on the moon, but certainly a disappointment because of its short life on the lunar surface.

They say that you learn more through failure than success. I don't enjoy failure, but I do like to learn. Seems like I have had plenty of small successes, followed by significant failures. 

I should be learning a lot.

Prayers for Gaza

After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the world felt the horror of what that nation suffered. In the weeks that followed, we learned about Israel's harsh treatment of the people of Gaza; Israel felt that they had to control Gaza as much as possible after Hamas was elected to power in about 2006. 

And in the months since Hamas's attack, we have seen the brutal response of Israel. They have determined to eradicate Hamas from Gaza, even if it means harming innocent civilians in the process. The relentless assault on this small region has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis.

While the U.S. may desire to support Israel, we cannot accept all their military action uncritically. The goal of eliminating Hamas cannot realistically be achieved. And even if it could, the brutality of the Israeli Defense Force will cause more opposition to rise.

It is time for a cease-fire. It is time for hostages to be released. It is time for a serious effort for meaningful peace, with Palestine and Israel on equal footing.

You Bet

Not too long ago professional sports shunned gambling on their games. But with the emergence of digital apps for sports betting, pro sports have a whole new world of sponsors. Fantasy football lured fans into the deep statistics, but sports betting hits at a whole other level.

It's one thing to beat your friends in a fantasy league, but when you put serious dollar signs on your picks, fans have a lot more at stake. And it looks so easy. Download an app, enter some personal information, and boom! You're all set.

I have pretty much tuned out all the FanDuel ads, but a news report got my attention tonight. A psychology professor noted that young men who are drawn into sports betting are highly likely to become gambling addicts. The brain's formation does not recognize certain dangers before age 25. Gambling can etch destructive thought patterns in young brains. And so we could be setting up society for a new wave of addicts.

Some people may actually make money with sports betting, but most will lose. Some will lose fortunes. Some will lose gas money. Some will lose jobs. Some will lose families. Some will borrow from everyone they can think of. I expect there will be lots more losers than winners.

But the gaming companies will certainly win. Therapists will have new clients. If pharmaceutical companies can create a pill to control gambling, then they will get rich too. 

But many children will be losers. And relationships will suffer. And many (most?) of the users of gambling apps will wish they had never downloaded.

New Home for LOT

At the polls today I ran into an old friend who always works the polls. As we talked, she asked me where LOT 2540 is moving. I don't have all the inside information, but here is what has been shared publicly.

LOT could not renew their lease on their current property.

LOT has made an offer to purchase a suitable property in Western Rockingham County, which would be the Madison/Mayodan/Stoneville area. I have not heard if the offer was accepted, and I don't know exactly where the property is.

LOT is also pursuing a lease on retail space which would house the Thrift Store part of the ministry. Again, I don't know if the lease worked out, or where it is. The location LOT is seeking to purchase is not large enough to house the Thrift Store.

Now, here's some information that is definite. During this season of transition, our lunches and classes will be held at First Baptist Church in Mayodan. We will begin serving there on March 13. 

We serve lunch Wednesday through Saturday. Our times will shift one hour later when we move to FBC. Lunch will be served 12:30 to 2 p.m. and classes will be 1 to 2 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Time to vote

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday, and NC is part of the fun. 

I have had a hard time this year, figuring out who to vote for. It seems like the whole world of politics has gone crazy. 

And frankly, I don't feel like I belong anywhere politically. In many cases I just want to vote for "none of the above." So many candidates want to align themselves with national figures who are trouble. I prefer a candidate who can stand on his/her own. 

In so many races, no one has really impressed me as worthy of my vote.

I do plan to vote against all the incumbent Rockingham County commissioners. They truly betrayed their constituents when they cleared the way for a casino here. At least for now the NC legislature has not made casinos legal. But our commissioners unanimously sold out to the big gambling interests, offering to transform the whole culture of our community for dollars.

So, I'll go do my civic duty tomorrow. And for the most part, I'll be hoping all the candidates lose.

Crossing Myself

Some gestures mean a lot. A gesture can affirm or insult, welcome or frighten. The hand over the heart indicates reverence when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. A one-finger salute can tell another driver exactly how you feel.

Christian tradition includes the gesture of crossing oneself. It is a way to invoke God's grace and blessing. It's a way to acknowledge with your body that your body belongs to God. It reminds the faithful that God is with us in life's journey.

Actually, I know far too little about the significance of crossing yourself. I grew up as a Protestant, and we just don't do that thing. We know that the Catholic Church went off the rails way back centuries ago, and we know we are not Catholics. If only Catholics cross themselves, then we won't do that.  

I failed to realize that Christians used this gesture in the early centuries of the Church. This was a helpful, reverent practice, a physical way to surrender one's attitude to the Lord. 

I still feel really weird and awkward when I cross myself. In fact, I have never done it in public. I have only crossed myself while alone. It still feels too Catholic. And I'm not Catholic. But I am a believer in Jesus. I do want to remind myself that his death on the cross gives life to me. I want to use my body to indicate my surrender to him. I know that Jesus willingly received all the horror of humanity in himself on the cross. And by the cross he brings healing, restoration, reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness, hope.

Maybe someday my appreciation for Jesus's death for me will outweigh my desire not to appear Catholic. 

Protecting my hens

My chickens are having a hard time. They apparently taste good to the predators. I have lost two of them in the past few days.

I'm not sure what kind of critter is getting my birds, but I need to find a solution. I have an electric mesh fence, which is not always on. Sigh. Clearly I need to make sure the fence stays on more. Sometimes the solar battery gets low and it needs to recharge. I could also close the henhouse door at night, and then open every morning. But that's a lot of effort.

We can try to trap the culprit, too. 

Oh, and maybe we need a farm dog.

I want my hens to be able to trust me to take care of them. That's a lot of responsibility.

Sick Politics

The American experiment has endured almost 250 years now. We began in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence, and we put our current rules in place with the Constitution in 1787. Over the centuries we have amended the Constitution only 27 times, beginning with the first 10, known as the Bill of Rights. Only 17 measures have become formal amendments, and two of those cancel out each other. Amendment 18 introduced Prohibition of alcohol, and Amendment 21 repealed that ban. 

So we really have only added to the Constitution 15 times since the Bill of Rights. That's quite a record. But the world of United States government is showing some weaknesses, particularly with the two party system. In his Farewell Address, George Washington warned of the dangers of two parties battling with each other in government. He saw the strife in his own cabinet and anticipated the kinds of problems we see today.

Our system of selecting candidates for President seems particularly troubling today. We have two 80-year-old men as the likely nominees, both of whom seem unfit to serve as leaders of the free world. We are left to wonder about American politics: Is this the best we can do?

The two major parties are pulled so hard to the extremes that their candidates look like caricatures. The mainstream voter can't get behind either nominee. We are perpetually required to choose the-lesser-of-two-evils. 

I believe that the American people should not be doomed to such choices in every election.

Sadly the party leaders seem to lack common sense and common decency. The candidates are so clearly disqualified to serve, and no one has the courage to stand up and speak the truth. And those who do speak up are summarily canceled and silenced.

In this culture, good, respectable states-people cannot find political traction. Some are scared away by the vitriol that comes with campaigns. Some cannot stir up enough support because they will not play into voters' fears.

And so we are left with candidates who sow political and cultural division. The division works to put them in power. But division does not work to lead and inspire our nation.

Leap Day!

How are you celebrating Leap Day?

Will you jump to conclusions?

Take a leap of faith?

Turn over a new leap? (Sorry)

You can clear your biggest hurdles.

You can try the decaffeinated version and just take it one step at a time.

Some Leap Day traditions include women proposing marriage to men, playing Leap Frog, or planning for the next leap year (2028).

I looked up a list of Leap Day celebration ideas, but most of them were quite lame. Which seems sadly ironic for a day of leaping. I saw ideas like cook a meal, take some pictures, make a Leap Day T-shirt, prepare for spring. 

Seriously, "prepare for spring"? I need an extra day in February to inspire me to prepare for spring?

Well for me, I happen to be a the beach today, so I went for a walk and found lots of sea biscuits! We have never before found any of those shells at the shore, and today we saw dozens!

Whatever you do today, lame or not, I hope your Leap Day springs forth with joyful irony and fun memories! 

And as I think of it, I don't really remember any Leap Days from years past. Hmmm.

Steel-Man

I have been disappointed with the way some Christian thinkers engage in conversation about important subjects. I have noticed the tone used in dialogue tends to be far too polemical.

Too many Christians will state a point of view on, say, abortion or immigration or education. Then they will construct a straw-man version of the opposing point of view and proceed to dismantle and ridicule that position. 

So here are my concerns and observations.

First, Jesus told us to love our enemies, as well as our neighbors. These diatribes by Christians do not indicate a loving attitude toward anyone, especially anyone who disagrees.

Second, personal attacks and calling others stupid has never been very persuasive. If their goal is to persuade, they should find some commonality with those who disagree.

Third, the attacks on a straw-man don't prove much at all. They may energize those in agreement, but that doesn't really change anyone's mind.

Fourth, straw-man attacks tend to weaken the position they intend to affirm. When I hear a straw-man attack, I realize that the attacker has such a weak understanding of the issue that he/she cannot refute the true position of the opposition. 

Finally, in a straw-man attack I see someone who is actually afraid of dealing with truth. He/she would rather look good to a particular audience than actually convince someone to change his/her position.

Why not actually construct a robust, persuasive argument as the opposition would actually state it? Why not try to understand that position and make a case that sounds intellectually honest? Then you can seek truth with the opposition, raising actual points of disagreement. 

Seems to me that too many people are afraid to construct a steel-man for the sake of honest argument. We are more interested in ridiculing others and putting them down, than we are in actually seeking truth together.

No wonder we are so divided.

Troublesome King

In Matthew 2 we see the story of the Magi coming to visit Jesus. As they looked for the newborn king, they went to the capital, Jerusalem. When Herod the Great heard about this inquiry, he was troubled, Matthew tells us. I guess so. If a new king was born, the current king would certainly expect to know about it.

But Matthew notes that "all Jerusalem" was also troubled. I have always thought that the citizens were worried about King Herod's reaction to the news. But maybe these citizens were worried about the possibility of a new king upsetting the status quo.

In any society there are people who want to keep things as they are. They want to conserve the current systems. If the system works for me, why would I want it to change? Sure there are people who are struggling, but they can thrive too if they will get with the program.

But when this newborn king grew up, he turned things upside down, declaring that the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek -- these were the blessed people. This message would really challenge the status quo. 

So, yeah, Herod and the powerful people in Jerusalem were right to be troubled.

Prophets and criticism

Israel was supposed to be God's chosen people to show God's goodness to the world. Israel had a few moments of faithfulness, but generally they were about as corrupt as the rest of the world. They oppressed foreigners and their own people. They failed to carry out justice. They set up systems to prop up the elite at the expense of the ordinary people. They worshiped other gods.

The prophets noted all these failures and called the kings to account. They called out the failures of diplomacy, failures of leadership, failures of worship. They criticized the government relentlessly. And this did not improve the popularity of the prophets.

The prophets stood up to the powerful, often at great cost. They were often hated. Their reports in the Bible were actually a minority report. They would have lost all the opinion polls in their day.

Their main job was to criticize and call God's people back to faith. They usually failed. But they did it anyway.

We need some prophets today. Not that we are God's chosen people. But there is so much to criticize in government and society today. Somebody needs to speak the truth.

People who should know better are falling under the spell of loud politicians. Somebody needs to call this out. 

Bring on the prophets.

 

Come to your senses

Our guest speaker at Crossroads this morning, Guy Andrews, led us into the story of the Prodigal Son. The story is so familiar. I've heard so many sermons and Bible studies on this famous parable. But the story keeps yielding more profound truth.

You probably know the story, and you can find it in Luke 15. Jesus tells three stories there, and the last one is about three men. There's a father, an older son, and a younger son. The younger son wants to cash out of the family, so the father allows him to take his inheritance and walk away. This son has a great time partying, until the money runs out. His life gets pitiful. Then he comes to his senses.

He decides to go back home and beg to be let in the house. 

The father sees him coming, and runs out to meet him. The father forgives him and calls for a celebration.

Meanwhile, the older brother has stayed home, slaving away in the family fields. When he hears about his brother's return and the impending party, he can stand it. The father goes to see his older son and tries to explain why they had to celebrate. But older brother will have none of it. It's not fair for him to slave away and not ever have a party. "Everything I have is yours," the father tells him. 

The younger brother brought shame to the family and wasted all his wealth. Then he came to his senses. The father rejoiced because this son finally understood the value of relationship.

The older brother apparently brought respect to the family and never wasted wealth. But he never came to his senses. The father was sad because this son thought that honor, wealth, and obedience were more important than relationship.

Here's the point. The father rejoices when his sons come to their senses. Every day I need to come to my senses because every day I get things mixed up.

Coming to my senses brings me life.

Better than goody-goody

Jesus pronounces as "blessed" those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. (See Matthew 5:6.) When we think of righteousness, we think of good behavior, doing the right thing. It's a personal matter. You make sure that you follow all the rules. You check the boxes.

Those who hunger and thirst for that may seem, well, not much fun. They may come across as goody-goody, or self-righteous, or judgmental. They are so caught up with their rule following that they miss out on the joys of life. Maybe they think it's worth it, after all, they are promised future reward.

But Jesus does not say, "Blessed are the rule followers." 

We get tripped up by the word "righteousness." It's not about following rules and polishing your sterling reputation. It really means "right relationships." 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right relationships." That puts a whole different spin on the saying. And notice what Jesus goes on to talk about in Matthew 5--settling disputes, not hating people, not objectifying people, serving those who oppress you. It really is about being in good relationship with other people.

If you hunger and thirst for right relationships, you can make your own world more peaceful, and you can surprise others by not being selfish. This is the kind of attitude that will make your world a better place. When lots of people live like that, you have a movement.

If you choose to live like that, Jesus says you will be filled. That's the kind of world I want to live in.

Checking on the Experiment

The New York Times daily email today noted the trouble with teens and smartphones. They found that the earlier children receive a smartphone, the more likely they are to struggle with mental health. 

A girl receiving her first phone at age 6 has over a 70% chance of experiencing mental health problems. 

We are all part of a grand experiment, a study of what happens to humanity when it has unlimited access to every connection all the time. I blogged about this grand experiment nearly 11 years ago. You can read that post here.  The experiment was just beginning then. The results of the experiment are disturbing.

Back then, we didn't realize how addictive electronic screens could be. Now we see the addiction and the depression, disconnection, bullying, shaming, distraction, insomnia, and loneliness that this technology has facilitated.

We are all lab rats. It's nearly impossible to opt out of the experiment. Those who do opt out look like kooks. But maybe we can at least dial it back. We can realize that our social media apps are actively working to keep us hooked. We can put limits on our screen time. We can turn off our phones.

Maybe you could try one of these ways of disconnecting.

• Turn off your phone at night.
• Make a habit of not looking at your phone first thing in the morning. Wait until after your workout or your first cup of coffee.
• Leave your phone in the car when you go out to eat.
• Turn off your phone for a couple of hours every Sunday afternoon. And take a nap or take a walk.
• Remember that the social media companies want to use you to make money. Limit their access to you.
• Say a prayer whenever scroll through your social media feed. Pray for someone you care about, pray for wisdom, pray for restraint.

We can't stop this experiment, but we can limit our participation. Looks like our mental health depends on it.

Oppenheimer

I just watched the movie. Wow. A great story told powerfully.

There was so much I did not know about the Manhattan Project and the politics behind it. 

We are faced with moral choices every day, but I can't imagine the incongruity of building a weapon like this. You need the weapon to stop evil, before that evil makes that awful weapon itself.

And when the evil is waning, soon to collapse, should you use that weapon? Should you use it a second time?

The world has never been the same since that first explosion in Los Alamos.

We do well consider the evil and destruction of violence, even as a means of stopping violence.

Feeding AI

I have a subscription to Microsoft's Office 365. It's a bummer to pay for it every year, but at least I know that I stay updated.

What I did not realize is that all my documents are available to Microsoft to feed into their Artificial Intelligence machine, "Copilot." More and more I see suggestions about next words or phrases in the things I type. Sometimes the suggestions are helpful, sometimes they are just annoying.

Many AI programs are based on a "large language model." These programs are designed to predict the next word in any word combination. With simply next word prediction, these AI models can build very complex "thoughts" or ideas. 

And people are now using AI for all kinds of tasks. You can get AI to help you organize thoughts, suggest creative solutions, or mimic a specific style. 

These are all things that I have heard AI can do. I have never done more than pull up the website for Chat GPT. I'm still a little skeptical of the whole concept. I like to do my own thinking, thank you. But I do like to save time and effort. 

One day maybe I'll ask some AI for ideas on yardwork, or vacation activities, or ways to fill out a March Madness bracket. I'm not quite there yet.

Tech No

I remember as a teenager watching my parents who were unable to keep up with the latest trends. They were so lame. Now it's my turn. 

I just want to share some of my attitudes and experiences with technology. I got my first computer in 1987, and I was so excited. It was so amazing to write my grad school papers on a word processor. Printing was tricky, but it was so much better than a typewriter.

Now I have apps on my phone for important things like Chic-fil-A. I have thousands of points. I also have some social media apps. I check Facebook about every day. I have never really gotten into Instagram. I have an account, but, well, it just doesn't hook me. 

When I'm scrolling on social media, I feel like I'm holding my breath. This is something that I can only do for so long. It feels like a guilty pleasure without a whole lot of pleasure.

I had a Twitter account, which of course has become X. Here again, I have never been hooked. Usually it feels like a waste of time. I hear podcasters talk about engaging and enraging people on X. I find it easy to shut it down.

Now, I do love me some podcasts. I think this might be the best use of the smart phone ever. Except maybe taking pictures of my grandson.

I Snap Chat with only three people, my wife and two daughters. That can be fun.

I have never downloaded Tiktok. I think it's just something else to figure out, and it seems mostly like teenagers giggling. Plus, I don't trust those Chinese people with my data.

Yeah, I'm out of touch, maybe. But I do love to dig in the dirt. There's no app for that.

Garden plans

I'm working to plan my garden now. I've got a few plants growing now, some lettuce and spinach. I have done some soil prep in the other beds, so I am ready to put some seeds in the ground. You wouldn't think that planning a garden is that complicated, but I find it to be.

You need to consider the obvious things, like the hardiness of the plant. Some seeds can't be sown until after the last frost. But then you need to consider what was in that garden bed previously. You want to rotate crops so that you don't deplete the soil. You also have think about the life cycle of the plant. Some veggies will bolt when the weather gets hot. Others just get going when the weather warms up. This means that some garden beds will be available for new crops in the middle of the season. Need to plan for that too.

Last year I had pumpkins that ripened too early. I picked them in August, not when you want them in October. So I'll be sowing my pumpkin seeds later this year.

Another consideration is wildlife. My garden fence is pretty good at keeping the varmints out. But one year my corn was just ready to pick, when I saw that racoons had climbed in and helped themselves. So now I try to hide the corn patch behind other plants, so the racoons can't see it so well. That strategy has worked for a couple of seasons.

So, I'm learning by trial and error. But I do enjoy the taste of garden fresh veggies!

 

Power and murder

Alexei Navalny died last week in a Siberian prison camp, where he was serving a 30 year sentence. He was an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin. 

One must notice how often critics of Putin mysteriously perish. Most recently we note the deaths of Navalny and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian general who challenged Putin on his prosecution of the Ukraine war. The general died in a plane crash.

History is full of political and military leaders who execute voices of dissent. Such murders create enemies, and the brutal leader must stay ahead of the enemy list. 

I know hardly anything about Navalny or Prigozhin. But a child can see the pattern of killing enemies. It looks like might makes right. And they say that history is written by the winners. So Putin can have all the Russian history books tell the story of his bold leadership, fighting NATO and the West, while unifying the people of Russia and expanding their territory.

I have to wonder, if Putin succeeds in unifying Russia through the blood of dissenters, what kind of society will that create? If the leader uses any means to silence every critic, what will happen in Russian business deals? Russian classrooms? Russian families? Russian churches? Compassion, empathy, and love will look like quaint storybook themes.

Putin may retain his power, but it looks like he has long lost his soul.

Confessing Lent

I went to an Ash Wednesday service this week, and the pastor appropriately noted that Lent is a time for fasting, for giving up something. This year I had not really identified anything to give up. I've been through Lent seasons many times without intentionally living any self-denial. I kind of thought this year would be like that.

Then I started blogging about confession. I realized that I'm not good at confessing. I don't especially like it, but then, who does? I see that I can deny myself through growing in the habit of confession.

So, here's my idea. I want to confess something every day during Lent. I plan to confess to someone I trust. And it won't always be a sin that I confess. Most often I expect to confess something about my feelings.

I have never been good about recognizing or expressing my feelings. So this is an exercise in seeing myself more from God's perspective, admitting that my human experience is more than just my thoughts.

I think it might work. I'm not sure how I will feel about it.

Easing into confession

We Protestants are not used to much confessing. Some will recite generic confession prayers in church every Sunday, and that's good. But we don't have a real good context for personal confessing. 

So here are some ideas for easing into a habit of confession. Obviously you need to find someone you really trust. It could be your spouse. It could be a small group of trusted friends. It could be just one friend.

Try offering something personal as a confession, but not begin with your deepest, darkest sin. You can confess things other than sin. You can confess doubt, fear, anxiety, confusion. You can confess that you don't understand something. You can confess your need for wisdom.

The point is that we can begin to open up about things we don't typically talk about. We can be vulnerable and get used to sharing our hearts. As we build trust, we can grow into sharing more deeply from our hearts.

I think we all need this.

Confession and healing

Yesterday began the season of Lent, the 40(ish) day period of fasting leading up to Easter. During that time, Christians are encouraged to give up something as an exercise of self-denial. This self-denial helps one identify with Jesus, who gave up life itself on the cross.

As we deny ourselves, we may more easily discover our own brokenness and sin. Such discovery should lead us to confession.

Confession is something that Protestants and Catholics handle differently. Many Protestant churches lead parishioners through weekly prayers of confession, a corporate way to acknowledge our failures. This is valuable.

But Catholics encourage parishioners to name their sins specifically, individually to a priest in confession. I understand the Protestant objection here. We believe in the priesthood of the believer, that we don't need anyone to stand between us and God. Jesus himself is our priest.

Nevertheless, scripture calls us to confess. "If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). We can dig that. Let's confess our sins to God. He forgives us. We need it.

Notice also what James says about confessing: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (James 5:16). Confession to other believers brings more than forgiveness; it brings healing. 

Protestants don't mind confessing sin to God, but it's really awkward to confess your sin to another person. I might do that occasionally, but not regularly. I think I'm missing out on some healing.

Love and Life

It's Valentine's Day, a day to celebrate love. Why is love worth celebrating?

Jesus gave his disciples a new command: Love one another, even as he loved them.

When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus gave two: Love God, love people.

In his first letter, the Apostle John actually says that God is love (1 John 4:7-8).

Paul talks about how love is more important than lots of other expressions of the faith. In his "love chapter," Paul describes how love behaves. Then he speaks of the highest Christian virtues saying, "Faith, hope, and love--these three remain. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13)

The Old Testament is full of love as well. Psalm 136 says 26 times in 26 verses, "His love endures forever."

So, yeah, love is a big deal. We need to give it and we need to receive it. 

May you receive his love and may it overflow to those around you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Gonna need some peacemakers

I was brought up short this week by the words of Jesus. In his opening of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), he says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." I have preached on this saying, and still I missed something crucial. (I need to go back and look at that sermon and see what in the world I said.) 

So these peacemakers have the good life, Jesus says. What does it take to be a peacemaker? It takes involvement. It takes getting in the middle of the fray. A peacemaker is one who recognizes discord or conflict and works to mediate a resolution. You can't just observe and comment. You have to engage the opposing factions and facilitate understanding and compassion.

Unfortunately, it looks like we will need some serious peacemaking in 2024. Already there are plenty of wars around the world, and the looming possibility for more. But the stage is set for lots of political fighting here in the U.S. this year. 

Progressives and conservatives often consider the other side to be the enemy. Too often they characterize the other people as evil.

Enter the peacemakers (please!). We need Jesus-followers to step in (not barge in) to situations where people are looking for the worst in others, where emotions are high, where hate is boiling over. Such disciples can listen and encourage others to listen. They can recognize the image of God in people on both sides. They can urge compassion across the political divide.

Maybe peacemakers will make a difference this year. It will make the world a better place.

The big game

It was an exciting Super Bowl last night! For me, it was fun to watch because I like both teams. Patrick Mahomes has such a friendly vibe, and his coach Andy Reid is so down to earth. I don't know much about Brock Purdy, but I respect his cool confidence on the field. Kyle Shanahan has done a good job of bringing the 49ers to life.

Seems like just when people really get into the sport, it's all over.

We have to wait for fall to see some more. I can hear the song now, "Are you ready for some football?!"

And maybe we won't have to watch a celebrity react to every play. Not likely.

To fight or not to fight

I want to be a pacifist. I see the damage that violence does in so many contexts--families and nations through history. I see the power of peaceful resistance in India under Gandhi and in the United States under MLK. 

This type of movement really brings redemption, as the oppressed leads the oppressor to a change of heart. Of course this is the way the moral arc of the universe should go. People rise to more noble treatment of fellow humans.

So nonviolence is always the answer. Even if you lose in short run--like being put in jail, or beaten up--your cause will ultimately prevail. Or at least it ought to. You can take solace in knowing that you did the right thing.

It all sounds so right, so high-minded, so moral. 

But. But if someone threatens an innocent person, and I have the opportunity to use appropriate violence to stop it, I think I will. 

So, I guess I'm not really a pacifist. But why does the violence of war have to rule the world? Or does it really rule the world? 

Valentine's Ashes

I have not always paid a lot of attention to the Christian calendar, but I notice that Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day this year. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, which culminates with Easter Sunday.

This double meaning of the date brings greater meaning to both occasions. 

When we think about celebrating our loved ones, we can remember that we must truly love in a sacrificial way. Lent is the season of self-denial. We can express our love sacrificially, putting others ahead of ourselves.

When we think about the beginning of the Lenten season, we can focus on the depths of Jesus's love for us. His love was so great that it endured the cross. He absorbed all the evil in the world, and he overcame it through his resurrection. All this he did for us.

Lent is a season of understanding and experiencing sacrifice. Valentine's seems like a good way to begin.

Jesus and touchdowns

With the Super Bowl only a few days away, I have heard a lot about Christian football players. I'm glad that these men acknowledge their faith, and I'm glad that the media allow them to speak up.

But somehow it seems that Christian news outlets are using these stories a little too much. I'm actually trying to put my finger on my objections. 

It's like they are saying, "Hey, famous football stars believe in Jesus. You should too!" And I guess that's not terrible either, but is that all we've got? Men who are not ashamed of their faith who excel at a game...

I feel like there should be much more compelling stories of God's kingdom out there. Maybe miracles of healing, or addictions being broken, or justice restored. We should be making Jesus famous by transformed lives and poverty eliminated and relationships restored and cities revived. 

If we can't show the power of God through supernatural transformation, at least we can cheer for touchdowns and those who make them.

A new kind of repentance

In church world we are always talking about repentance. And typically that means telling people, "Stop doing that sin." You know the usual suspects on the sin list: adultery, lying, drunkenness, gambling, porn, etc. Wouldn't the world be a better place without all those sins? Of course.

But the people calling for repentance usually focus on all the sins they never do. 

Some long time leaders in the Christian faith, however, are engaging in a new kind of repentance. They are changing their minds about the way the faith is practiced. I'm thinking specifically about Hank Hanegraaff. He was on the radio as "The Bible Answer Man." He fielded all kinds of questions on live radio, offering orthodox, Protestant answers.

But a few years ago, Hanegraaff ended his radio program and converted to the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith. Apparently he repented of the Western, Reformed perspectives that informed his theology. Rather than having an "answer" for everything about the Bible, he now embraces the idea that there are actually some things that can't be explained. There is mystery in the Lord and his creation.

Most Protestants believe that there has to be a good answer for everything. If we can't find a good answer, then we are obliged to speculate and fabricate until we find something that mostly works. Logic is regarded as infallible.

I'm about ready to repent of the Western mindset of an-answer-for-everything. Mystery is built into just about every aspect of life and creation. I can wrestle with it and marvel at it. But I don't have to solve it.

Living in this tension stretches me, and I hope it makes me more like Jesus.

No compassion for the border

The United States has needed new immigration laws for decades. Congress came very close to passing new laws this week. And then they choked.

This is a classic example of partisan politics taking priority over the good of the country. In news reports I have seen thousands of people crossing the Rio Grande. They face razor wire and red tape. The current rules are not working for them. 

Then there are border cities flooded with needy families. These cities can't adequately house or feed these folks. The current rules are not working for these American cities either.

Meanwhile Congress plays politics with the lives of suffering people. Shame on them. Shame on us for keeping them in power.

Absolute Power

Our country was designed to avoid consolidation of power. That's why we have three branches of government. 

If we were to allow any branch to act with no accountability, we would soon live under tyranny. Every politician should be held accountable, even criminally as appropriate.

Our leaders need to stand up for the rule of law, especially with those in positions of power. It takes courage to stand for truth, especially in the face of peer pressure.

Our country depends on it.

Escalation

We are at war with Houthis who are financed by Iran. They attacked a US base in Jordan and killed three American soldiers. We responded by attacking 87 targets in Iraq and Syria. Then they attacked again. We are vowing to retaliate again.

Where does this end?

The United States has interfered in so many other countries for so long that we have made millions of enemies. Just look at the anti-US demonstrations in various countries around the world.

Nations keep trying to solve issues with brute force. Military action has seemed to win the day a lot. But so often the conclusion of a war just sets up history for the next war.

Right now it looks like another world war could break out. 

There has to be a better way.

Egg count

I recently complained that my chickens were lazy, not laying enough eggs. I have about a dozen hens who could lay. Some are older than others, and less likely to lay, but seven of the ladies are less than a year old. Seems like they could step up.

I thought I owed them this word of encouragement.

I have now collected four eggs every day for the last four days. Yay! The days are getting longer, and the extra daylight is supposed to help them lay. 

I do try to treat my chickens well. I see them every day and make sure they have all the food, water, treats, and space they need. They are all free range with a moveable fence to keep them safe from predators. I want them to enjoy life.

And I also want them to contribute to my breakfast.

Maybe they will start reading my blog, too.

Dreams

We all need to have dreams. I have a plaque in my cabin that says, "If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough!"

Some people are all dream and no action. But some dreamers seem to inspire everybody they encounter. 

We like to imagine good things in the future, things that we can pursue, things that we can work toward. Dreams can move us ahead and give us hope. Some dreams are never realized, but still have value. Norman Vincent Peale famously said, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars." 

Here are some suggestions for realizing your dreams.

Turn your imagination loose on your dream. Take your idea to the extremes, just to see what you come up with. Your far-fetched ideas can lead you to something else that can really work. 

Identify your hurdles and obstacles. Figure out who or what can help you work around them.

Find somebody to dream with you. This might be the hardest thing to do. When you put your dream into words and share it with a trusted friend, it seems more real. And you might find someone who can cheer you on.

Let your dream unfold. When some pieces begin to fall into place, and some don't, you can retool the dream to fit reality.

I'm not an expert at fulfilling dreams, but I like to think big. Dreaming and imagining are key elements of creativity. When we create, we are reflecting the image of God. And that's what we are made for.

Say it now

Tonight a friend shared a dream she had about a mutual acquaintance. He is now deceased. In her dream she saw him before his death and wanted to tell him how to address his health concerns. Then he would not die prematurely. But, alas, she restrained herself, not wanting to mess with the space/time continuum. So she just gave him a big hug.

Indeed love is the universal language. A hug says more than we can possibly communicate with words. 

But words are important, too. There are probably many important things I need to say to various people. I don't want to miss the right time to say the right things. I need to tune in to the Holy Spirit, and trust his leadership in speaking my heart. 

I can communicate love with words and hugs. Mostly, I want to share my heart with those who are close to me.

A time to hack and cut

I hate kudzu. You know how it takes over. You see it swallowing trees all along the highway. It has been swallowing trees on my farm for decades. I've been working for years to get rid of it, and I attacked a section of it this week. With a weed eater, a knife, clippers, and a chainsaw I tore into the jungle. It revealed beauty that I never realized was there. It's going to look like a park in the spring.

I had obviously known it was there, but I had never really gone after it. If I had known how good it would look, I would have done this years ago.

And so it is with life. Many things in life need my attention. I barely notice them. But when I finally put forth the effort to make a change, I'm amazed at the results. I'm ready to hack away at more kudzu, and I'm noticing where I can uncover the hidden beauty. 

This is the season for removing kudzu. It's dormant, its roots and vines are easier to find and cut. When the time is right, I need to go for it.

I need to notice when the time is right for dealing with life's issues: financial, relational, organizational, and spiritual. Who knows what beauty I can uncover?