Let it go. Spit it out. Taste the joy.

August 12, 2020

I save many of the little quotes that Pastor Jack Freed uses in his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, because they provide inspiration for posts that I write. Every now and then, I notice that a couple of those saved quotes just seem to be right when one puts them together. Today is one of those days and these are the quotes that I saved over time.

“Suffering is not holding you, you are holding suffering.” – Buddha

“Life is like eating a watermelon.  Spit out the seeds of woe and taste the pulp of joy.”  (Unknown) 

Buddha was a pretty cool dude when it came to sayings that make a lot of sense and explain a lot of things. Likewise, “Unknown” (or Anon as he/she is often called) is always a good source of wisdom.

I’m sure that most of us know someone who just can’t let go of the suffering over some  tragedy or setback in their life – the loss of a loved one or perhaps the disappointment of being passed over for a promotion at work. We often label these people as “long suffering.” They just can’t let it go. They go through life with a mouthful of seeds instead of spitting them out. They never taste the sweet pulp of the melon because they are content to suffer with the seeds of woe. The suffering is not holding them. They are holding onto the suffering, because that has become their life.

If you know someone like that, or perhaps realize that you have become someone like that, it’s time for an interdiction. Help is as close as your bible. In it you will find –

 “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” – John 16:24

Most of the time you will find that long suffers have not stopped and asked God for help. They have not asked God to take away the pain and suffering, and let them get on with living their life. In some cases, they cannot forgive themselves for “things left undone” – missing the chance to say I love you one last time, or letting some sign of distress go unnoticed. If you can just get them to ask by earnestly praying for God’s help, you and they may be amazed at what God can do to take the seeds of woe out of their life and allow them to once again taste the pulp of joy.

Sometimes you may find that these long suffering people have just wandered away from their faith and become confused about why God would allow the tragedy to happen in their lives. There have been tons of articles and books written on the conundrum of why bad things happening to good people and God’s role in both the good and the bad in our lives. They always come back to the same conclusion – that God is not controlling everything that happens in our lives, but that faith in Him can control how we react to those things. It is faith that allows one to let go of the seeds of woe and taste the joy in life. Faith allows us to endure whatever this life throws at us, because we are confident that our next life is going to be wonderful.

These days it is easy on Social Media or maybe with a card to express condolences or offer a word of encouragement to someone who is suffering woes, but that is less helpful that taking some positive action. Perhaps your role is to help that long-suffering person fine their way back to their faith. One small way to help is to offer to pray with them. Prayer is usually a very personal thing, so opening yourself up to them n that way is a very powerful act of kindness and sharing that may allow them to break out of their shell of self-pity and seek God’s help. It also helps them to see that they are not alone, which many suffering woes feel.

If he person that needs help is the person that you see in the mirror every morning, there is nothing more powerful that coming to that conclusion and asking for God’s help. One does not have to say long, ponderous prayers in order to call for God’s help. I have posted here a few times about the short, but extremely powerful, little prayer that I use, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”  Just saying that little prayer is earnest can help you let go and spit out the seeds of woe. You will then be free to taste the pulp of joy in your life.

Let it go. Spit it out. Taste the Joy.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Turn your “m” upside down to turn your life around…

August 11, 2020

There is a simple way to make a rather dramatic change in the trajectory of your life. It involves letting go of a self-centered approach to life and embracing a life dedicated to the common good of all. I call it turning your “m” upside down – taking the letter “m” from the self-centered word “me” and turning it upside down until it becomes the letter “w” and the word become “we”. It is a conscious effort to consider the impact on others when making decisions in your life and not just yourself. It is also a commitment to be more inclusive, less prejudiced and more open to others – to expand the “we” members in your life.

We became a very me-oriented society sometime in the 1990’s and things have only gotten worse in the new century. It is that focus on “me” that has also increasingly lead to the polarization of society, as people began to seek out and gravitate towards others who thought like “me”. It became the norm to also identify the “them” in our lives who were not like “me” and thus to be vilified. Prejudices whether racial or based upon other factors like sexual preferences are basically a definition of people who are not like “me”. We seek the comfort of others who think like they do because it is less lonely than just “me” and it provides some sense of justification of our beliefs within the anonymity of a group. At the end of the day it is still a “me” reaction to life.

The truth is that we do not and cannot live in a “me” world. The world is not about me and our lives cannot be about that either. Christ did not say “Love yourself”; instead he said love your neighbor as you love yourself. Christ was telling us to take that “m” in me and turn it upside down so that it made the word “we”. Jesus did not tell the rich man to go get more money, more possessions and more power for himself. He told him to sell everything that he had and give the money to the poor. He was trying to help that man see that “we” is more powerful that “me”. Unfortunately, that man wandered off unable to bring himself to turn his “m” upside down.

There are those who have a knee-jerk reaction to any discussion of the “we” aspect of life – the common good for all. They immediately label it as Socialism and, out of their limited understanding of that term and their misguided prejudices, they dismiss it. That reaction is driven by the fear that becoming concerned about “we” means giving up something for “me”. Our lives are about much more than just money and possessions – they are about how we live them. It is time to stop and think about how focused you are upon the “me” and what you can do to turn your “m” upside down and become more about the “we” in your life – your family, your friends and all of the people that you’ve been leaving out because they were not part of “us”.

If you can do that, I think you’ll find that you are living a much more rewarding and fulfilling life. There is happiness, joy and reward to be found in “we” that are missing when you r focus in just upon “me”. Even if the “me” ends up with a little less, the reward to be found in focusing upon “we” more than lakes up for any sacrifice, made by me. The country that consistently ranks as having the happiest society in the world is Finland, followed by Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and The Netherlands. One might ask how societies in such remote and somewhat rugged locations be so happy? In all those countries there are societies more attuned to “we” than just to “me”.  Even our neighbor to the north – Canada – provides an example of how much more friendly a society can be when it is more focused on “we” than “me”.

It all starts with each ”me”. Each me  must each make the individual decision to focus more on the common good and not just on our own good. If enough “me’s” start doing that it will tum into an “us” that we can be proud to be a part of and “we” will all be better off.

What will you do today to turn your “m” upside down and become a “we” person?

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Posted by Norm Werner

Be goofy today…

August 10, 2020

In his blog this morning Pastor Freed used this quote – “You’re never too old to do goofy stuff.”  (Ward Cleaver)

Those who don’t recognize the name Ward Cleaver are probably young enough to do almost anything goofy; however, for those of us who remember watching Leave it to Beaver, Pastor Freed’s post contained the advice that as one gets older it is good to also become wiser about which goofy things one tries. He used the example of getting on a pogo stick, which is probably a bad idea for most people over 70 (maybe even for those over 50).

There are many goofy things that one can do at any stage in life without endangering themselves. I’ve suggested here a few times that you lighten up your life by making a funny (or goofy) face in the mirror in the morning. Many people, especially in their middle age years, become too focused on success in their business lives, too serious and intense to even pay attention to their families, much less to their own mental health needs. We often hear it said that they are driven to success and pursuit of their goals. All too often those “driven” people are not happy people. Do you know someone like that?

Some business coaching articles and books would have us believe that we should learn to imitate those driven individuals, to use their techniques of focus and drive as role models for our own lives. There is an underlying thought in that advice which assumes that accomplishment of some or all of those business goals will equate to happiness. That is seldom the case. The accomplishment of success-oriented business goals must often just leads to the setting of bigger and higher goals – getting to the next level – which leads to even more intensity and drive. It never seems to be enough.

Yet many people who have not achieved notable success in the business world are happier by far. Why is that? Perhaps it is because they have focused more upon the important things in life – their faith in God and the personal relationships in their lives. A grandpa who spends time on the floor doing goofy things with his grandchildren is often more happy that the Grandpa who convenes a board meeting of his company.  The person that has a strong relationship with God is more likely to be happy with what he/she has than to be driven to accumulate more things, more money, more power. That person is also more free to do goofy things that they enjoy than the person driven by schedules and concerns about how things might look to others if they did something goofy.

Maybe you should add a line to your prayers and ask God to “Let me find something goofy to do today.”  It will lighten up your day and free you to focus upon what’s really important in life. Just remember to be goofy safely.

Have a goofy day and stay off of pogo sticks!

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Posted by Norm Werner

Keep a little Peter Pan in your life…

August 7, 2020

“The Peter Pans of the human race never grow up, and they keep their curiosity.”  (Isidor Isaac Rabi)

That was the quote in today’s installment of the Jack’s Winning Words blog. One doesn’t have to be a Peter Pan to keep al little of that magic, curiosity and wonder in their lives. I’ve posted here a few times about not taking life so seriously that we forget how to play or have the wonder and fun of a child. Some take the phrase “grow up” to mean give up that wonder, curiosity and fun and become a somber, and sometimes unhappy, adult.

Certainly the responsibilities that you assume for yourself and others as you grow up become more serious and, at times, more weighty; however, they really don’t require that you completely give up that childlike curiosity and wonder at things or that you stop allowing yourself to have unbridled fun. Many suppress the child that is still within them so thoroughly that they become “grumpy old men (or women)”. Some become depressed because they will not ever allow that child out to play and their world become gloomy and threatening.

An interesting side effect of having a strong faith is that it empowers you to allow your inter child out – to keep a little Peter Pan in your life. It does that when you realized that God has forgiven you for all of your sins and loves you no matter what. That frees you also to love yourself and to rediscover that innocent joy that you had as a child. Faith says, lighten up, you are saved; appreciate and enjoy your days on earth and look forward to what is to come.

A strong faith also allows you to stop worrying about things that you cannot change anyway and refocus your curiosity on the things and people around you. You can replace worry with learning and fear with understanding. Aren’t you curious about how different your life would be if you didn’t spend so much time worrying about how it is? Discover the wonders in life that are available through faith. Keep a little Peter Pan in your life.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Be on the bestseller list…

July 29, 2020

Today’s installment of the blog Jack’s Winning Words illustrates how the lives that we live tell a story that others evaluate and learn from- he called it our Gospel.

Jack used a quote from Mother Theresa, who wrote –  “I’m a little pencil in God’s hand.” She certainly wrote a best seller with her life of work among the poor of India.

Jack also referenced a poem by Paul Gilbert –

“You are writing a Gospel,

A chapter each day,

By deeds that you do,

By words that you say.

Men read what you write,

Whether faithless or true;

Say, what is the Gospel

According to you?”

While other men may evaluate you by the story of your life; it is most often the children in our lives who learn from that story. What will your children learn from the Gospel according to you?

Some books are banned, especially for children, because their content is inappropriate for young minds. Others are best sellers or required reading because he story is so good and the lessons to be learned are so powerful. Which would you rather the story of your life to be?

Many families have someone in the family tree that they just don’t talk about or talk about only in whispers, so that the children don’t overhear. These are not the role models that are held up to the children to emulate, but rather the bad examples to be avoided. Their Gospel is one of shame.

So what is the Gospel according to you? What things are you writing in your Gospel today that you want your children to learn from? Would you be proud to see that your gospel is being read or would you have to caution, “Don’t do what I did?”

The best way to write a bestseller with your life is to be like Mother Theresa and let God guide your pencil. Maybe you can add to your prayers, “God please guide my actions today so that they may make a great chapter in the Gospel of my life.”

Not all of us will have the opportunity, time or commitment to do the things that Mother Theresa did; but all of us are given the opportunity to live a life that we can be proud of and one that others may learn from by doing the right things and the things that we can to help others. So sharpen your pencil before venturing out today (thru prayer)  and get yourself ready to write things in your Gospel that you will be proud to have others read.

Ask God to help you be on the bestseller list.

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Posted by Norm Werner

With God’s help, be the storm…

July 27, 2020

Today’s post to the Jack’s Winning Words blog proved to be the perfect set up to use a quote that I saved from an earlier post. In today’s post Pastor Freed used this quote –

“God sometimes does His work with a gentle drizzle, not storms.”  (John Newton)

We sometimes only think of God, or call on Him, when life gets stormy. Hopefully, for most of us life isn’t all that rough and God comes into our lives in the more gentle settings of loving and faithful homes or in our Sunday School classes and church services.

But, for some, life may seem to be a constant battle with storms all around buffeting and tossing them. Perhaps it is the demands of their jobs or the obligations that they have at home. Maybe it something like the Corona Virus Pandemic upending everything else that they had to hold onto in life. Whatever it is they can begin to feel like warriors engaged in constant battle. Many of our front line health care workers probably feel that way each day as they head into work.

For those who feel embattled, seeking God’s help allows them to take up the mantle of the warrior and face the storm anew each day. For those people another quote from Jack’s blog has stuck for some time in the back of my mind –

“Fate whispers to the warrior ‘you cannot withstand the storm’ … the warrior whispers back ‘I am the storm.’” (Author Unknown)

Saying a little prayer before heading into battle with whatever you are facing each day can provide you with the armor, shield and sword of God to help you be the warrior you need to be. We read in Ephesians 6:10-18 about the armor of God.

So, before heading out today check the mirror; not to see if your hair is OK or your tie is straight, but to take the time to say a little prayer and  make sure that you have God’s armor on.

Who or what can stand against you and God?

Be a warrior. Whisper to yourself – “I am the storm”.

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Posted by Norm Werner

What would you save?

July 25, 2020

A recent post to the Jack’s Winning Words blog used this quote – “We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it all the time is love.”  (Tennessee Williams)

Williams’ comparison of life to a burning building may be a bit dramatic; but, it serves the purpose of asking the question, “what is important to you…what would you save?”

When people who have faced a disaster like a fire or a flood  are interviewed on TV they are often asked what they took with them from their homes. Aside from pets, the answers most often given concern family pictures or other memorabilia that related to family, such as a family Bible. Those are objects that relate to the history of the family. As the interview goes deeper and looks to the future the love that was salvaged from the disaster is most often mentioned – loved ones who were spared and the love of the town or area in which they reside. It is hard for some to understand why someone who has been flooded out multiple time continues to want to rebuild and go on living in that same location. Simply put, they love it there.

The perpetually burning building that we find ourselves in today is fueled by the Corona Virus Pandemic. Everything has changed, yet all is still physically the same. The flames of this disaster have signed our lifestyles and destroyed most of the patterns and traditions that we enjoyed. Having stripped away almost everything else that we used to do, the flames of this virus now lick away at our relationships, hoping to also interfere with them. It is most important that we not let that happen; that we remain strong in our love and support for one another, even in cases where we cannot be together.

There is probably not a more poignant scenario than a spouse having  to say goodbye outside a hospital emergency entrance and watching their loved one be wheeled into the building, not knowing if they will ever see them alive again. At that moment, all they have left from the  burning building is their love.

 For most of us, life does not come to that; however, it is important to think about what is important to you and what you would take with you. If you come to any other conclusion than your love for those who are important in your life – parents, siblings, spouses and your children ,friends – I would encourage you to rethink your priorities in life. All of the wealth, possessions or power in the world is not worth losing the love of someone important in your life. Hold on tightly to that most precious possession during this current conflagration.

There is no greater example of love when faced with a life or death choice than God’s decision to let his only son die on a cross, so that we might be saved. If God  loved us so much that he would do that, how can we not heed his commandment to love one another and care for one another? How can we not share that love? We have so many simple ways to show and share that love, like wearing a mask to protect others, practicing good hygiene and social distancing so that we do not spread the virus. The building is on fire. Let’s save and share God’s love.

Let us also not forget that love when those who refuse to take the recommended measures to protect others confront us. They, perhaps more than anyone in a mask, need to see God’s love in action. Turn the other cheek and offer them a mask. If they refuse that, tell them that you will pray for them. If they scoff at that, tell them that you see that you will have to pray harder and wish them well.

The building is burning. What will you save?

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Posted by Norm Werner

Change the ending…

July 24, 2020

In the post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, today Pastor Freed used this quote – “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”  (Sent by Robin Klehr)

Pastor Freed talked about not wasting your time on the “coulda”, “woudla”, “shoulda”s of life, but rather refocusing upon the “gonna” that is right in front of you. We often spend too much of our lives regretting the things that we might have done differently in the past and not enough time thinking about doing things differently in the future. Freed recommended saying to yourself, ”with God’s help I’m gonna…”

One needs to deal with the fact that in the instances in your life when you coulda, woulda, shoulda, you didn’t. The best way to deal with that is to forgive yourself and move on to the gonnas that are still ahead of you. For people who cannot find a way to forgive themselves the ending is often depression or worse – suicide. Those are endings that must be changed.

In his post, Pastor Freed prefaced the words “I’m gonna” with the phrase “with God’s help” and that is the best way to begin. Every week in our church service (now on video during the Corona Virus Pandemic) one of the first things that we do is a confession of sins and an ask for forgiveness. It is easy to understand that one’s coulda, woulda, shoulda’s are sins of either commission or omission – we state it as “things done and left undone”.  After admitting our sins the Pastor exercises his authority, thorough Jesus Christ, to forgive them.

If that sounds simple, it is; but it is also powerful. Let me share with you’re the prayer that we recite together as a congregation –

We confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Let those words sink into your mind and your heart. Doesn’t that about cover the things that have been bothering you; the things that keep you up at night? If those things were forgiven, couldn’t you forgive yourself and move on?

Now imagine that God  or the Pastor has replied – “Your sins are forgiven in the name of Jesus Christ.” At that point, all of your coulda, woulda, shoulda’s are gone, in the past, forgiven. You can start to focus upon the gonna’s that God has empowered you to experience. You have changed the ending. You have a future that you can control.

You don’t have to wait for the Sunday service video (This week available at https://youtu.be/qDbi-vs-UyY). You can do this in the privacy of your home. Use our prayer, if that helps; but get whatever it is that is bothering out on the table and ask God forgive you, so that you can also forgive yourself.

Change the ending in your life. Now, what are you gonna do?

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Posted by Norm Werner

Our spinning kaleidoscopes…

July 22, 2020

In today’s post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, Pastor Freed used this quote -“Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope – a slight change and all patterns alter.”  (Sharon Salzberg) 

Well, the Coronas Virus has certainly set the kaleidoscopes of our lives spinning. Let’s be honest, nothing in our lives has been the same since this pandemic started and each day brings new news that spins the kaleidoscope again and changes all of the patterns of our lives again.

Some change in life is probably good. Those changes keep life interesting; however, the Corona Virus is not just some change it is almost total change. The changes have come so fast and been so pervasive and persistent that it has resulted in many of us having a hard time keeping some point of reference for stability purposes.  It has left us with little from the past to hold onto. It is as if we had been snatched from our old world and plunked down on some new planet where we didn’t recognize anything and were all of the rules were different. In addition, we don’t recognize many of the other inhabitants of this new world, because they are wearing masks. Even my phone doesn’t recognize me when I wear my mask.

In this disconcerting environment it is all the more important to hold onto the one thing that has not and cannot be affected by this virus – our faith.

As with many other things in life, we may not understand how or why God could let this happen to us. It is not ours to understand God, but rather to just continue to believe in Him. Perhaps the most comfort during these times can be found in the Bible –

Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

-AND-

Philippians 4:6-8 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Always remember that in the midst of changes that have been so great as to make our heads spin, we can count on one thing –

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Focus upon Christ as the world around you spins and He will give you the stable point of reference that you need to be able to deal with the changes.

Look at all of the pretty patterns that are unfolding around Jesus.

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Posted by Norm Werner

You are free to do something right…

July 21, 2020

As often happens with the quotes that I collect from the Jack’s Winning Words blog, the quote that Pastor Freed used today goes well with the one from yesterday when one puts them in juxtaposition.

Today Jack used a quote from a former Senate Chaplain – “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.”  (Rev Peter Marshall)

And, yesterday he used one from a civil rights icon –

“When you see something that’s not right, not fair, not just, you have to say something, to do something.”  (John Lewis)

Both men were championing the same message – do something, take action to right the wrongs that one sees.

Senate Republicans once tried to remove Reverend Marshall because they thought his prayers about making right the issues that he saw in America were too political. John Lewis was often attacked by the right for his relentless work to right the injustices of racism in America.

We see almost nightly on the news people who feel like they have the right to do as they please and the heck with the rest of us. They refuse to wear a face covering and pull guns on people who try to correct them. They loudly declare that all people of color are racists, looters and murderers. They see things that they know are not right, but they do nothing to stop it or correct it. They are free to do what is right, but they do not. Let’s not let their bad example rule the day. You are free to do something right.

Quite often, I’ve seen signs being carried in rallies or protests that proclaim “Freedom is not Free”. Those signs usually also show pictures of wounded soldiers who went to battel and fought to maintain our freedom. What they don’t state is that freedom also carries with it obligations; obligations that one must accept towards their fellow citizens. Those obligations to act responsibly and obey the laws of the land are there to insure the safety, peace and freedom of everyone. You are free to do something right.

We do not live in an anarchy. If we accept the fact that we live in an organized society, because there are benefits to us from that organization and structure; we must also accept that we must live within the rules of that society, in order to accrue those benefits. The structure and rules of our society impose costs upon us in the form of taxes or bills for goods and services that we enjoy. If one wished to live outside of that structure there are still places that one could go – just watch a few episodes of Alaska Bush People for an example. You are free to do something right.

So, we are free within the rules of our society. We are also free to do what is right, which both Marshall and Lewis pointed out. For many people, being free means free to do nothing (to stare at their shoes) when we see or experience an injustice. Whether out of fear or apathy, that seems to be the choice for too many in our society. It is more convenient for them to look the other way or to cross over and walk on the other side of the road (see Luke 10:25-37) than to stop and help or stop and do something to create change. You are free to do something right.

For some the thought is that “it doesn’t affect me, so why should I get involved?” The fact is that everything in any society affects all I that society is some way. Wrongs left un-righted fester and eventually boils over. Injustices rob the society of the potential good that could have been accomplished by the falsely accused. A lack of diversity within the business organizations and government structure of a society lead to a less vibrant, drab and colorless environment. You are free to do something right.

Right now, we are facing the threat of the Corona Virus as a society. Our medical experts and most government leaders have agreed that wearing a face covering  when in public is, if one is able to do so,  a good thing that will help slow the spread of the virus. Yet we still have people loudly proclaiming their right and freedom to ignore the needs of society and their fellow members. Take John Lewis’ advice and say something or do something when you see that. Remember  that you have rights too –  You are free to do something right.

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Posted by Norm Werner

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