Just Showing Up

May 18, 2016

I’ve heard it said that half the battle is just showing up.

Well, I’ve showed up today. There’s a lot on my mind, and yet not much.

We are taught about Sabbath. Taking a rest. That may not show up in the list of disciplines. But it probably is. After three weeks full of energy and commitment, I took two days with just a minimum of work and a lot of rest. It’s a good thing. You come out on the other end refilled with energy.

Rest is an essential component of refueling energy.

Another is proper eating. When I eat too heavy a meal whether for lunch or dinner, I can feel it dragging me down. I know better, but it just sounds so good at the time.

Appropriate exercise is another. An hour of Yoga refreshes the body and soul. As you stretch and work, energy is released. As the mind focuses on the body, day-to-day stuff is forgotten. You spend the hour residing in just the moment.

Relationships can be energizing. Just stay away from those people who suck energy out of you like a giant vacuum cleaner. A good conversation refocuses you.

Time alone. Just you and a cup of coffee or tea. Intentionally relax and listen for God’s whisper.

Vacations, paradoxically, may not be that refreshment if you stress over where to go, trying to see one more sight, organizing all the people around you, worried about money. If you are planning a vacation, make it a vacation. Intentionally allow spaces for relaxing, talking, reading. Leave the go-go world behind.

What gives you energy? Cultivate it.

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All God’s Children

May 17, 2016

“Your wife told me that you’ve been to Germany recently,” the older guy said to me at the gym. He came closer obviously wanting to make a point.

“Did you see a lot of those Muslims there?” he asked in a confidential whisper. “You know they are everywhere over there. The people hate Merkel for letting them in. They don’t assimilate like other people. They just keep to their own communities.”

When you grow up in a white-only area of a southern California city and then move to a rural area where total “non-white” population is less than 8%, I guess you form weird ideas about people. Add in that his only source of news is Fox…

I’m white, I suppose. Grew up and still live in the area. People always assume I share the same beliefs. But I went wrong somewhere. Traveled extensively. Did business around the world for the past 35 years. And maybe I took the New Testament teachings more seriously than most. (By the way, not all people in west central Ohio share that guy’s belief. Many do, though.)

Thoughts of poor Peter right after Jesus’ resurrection flashed through my mind. A gentile named Cornelius had a crisis–a crisis of health and a spiritual crisis he didn’t even realize at first. Peter was called.

Now Jews didn’t assimilate into the broader Greco-Roman culture. Peter was forbidden by his law from going into Cornelius’ house. From eating his food. From having any more to do with him than business.

But Cornelius had a problem and Peter had the solution. God had been whispering (maybe even shouting) to Peter to prepare him for this occasion. Peter sucked it up, went in, healed, shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, converted the entire household.

Peter finally experienced the power of the gospel. It is for all God’s children. God loves every human being and wants to draw them all to him. The New Testament, as much as many wish, is not full of doctrine and theology. It is full of the need of all of us for grace and God’s wish to extend it to us.

Back to my acquaintance at the gym. I burst his bubble. At least a little one.

“No,” I said, “I didn’t see many Muslims. But I have many Muslims as friends. They are all great people. There will be several posts a day in my Facebook feed in Arabic.”

Not willing to leave well enough alone, “Be careful what you trust as far as news on TV. They manipulate pictures to show things as more dramatic or worse than they are for effect. Remember, they aren’t bringing news. They are selling ads.”

And I leave that for you. Be careful what you allow to fill your mind. Are you in a vicious circle of negativity? Are you filling it with God’s word so that when an opportunity arises you can respond appropriately?

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Grace Under Pressure

May 16, 2016

Grace under pressure was truth in Ernest Hemmingway’s writing.

Sometimes we don’t face the challenges that a novelist will place a character in a story. But in our own way, we have to face the pressure frequently.

I was director of referees for youth soccer tournaments two straight weekends. I lived with the pressure of returning from a week in Germany facing assigning referees to appropriate games and recruiting more referees.

Friday late afternoon sipping a blended latte in my favorite coffee shop reflecting on getting the job done for this weekend’s tournament, I was relaxed and ready to go.

Checked emails. “Gary, we had 2″ of rain Thursday. Most of our fields are unplayable. We are marking out new fields, but we won’t have as many. Rescheduling all the games now.”

That meant that when the tournament director’s team finished figuring out all this, I had to go back and reassign all the referees. We had as many games in two fewer fields.

I sent an email to all the referees–prepare for schedule changes. Somewhere around 8:30 pm I was notified the schedule was complete. Somewhere around 11 pm I finished the last of the assignments.

Same thing Saturday. They decided in the afternoon that despite 30mph winds all day, the ground had not dried enough. Saturday night–schedule finished about 9, I finished about 11.

The the tournament committee (well Caleb and Chris) figured out how to do the schedule. That is a tough job. Then I started on the referee assignments.

It’s amazing. 50 or more referees. Not a one (well, there was one guy, but he’s an exception in every sense) came to me arguing or complaining. I obviously made mistakes. Guys were booked on two different fields at the same time. One guy was booked for two games at the same time–on the same field.

Everyone handled it.

You learn–faced with a challenge, there is no good to be gained from exploding. You face a big task with a crushing deadline, sign, then just go to work. One game at a time. Guys remarked how calm I was. (So were the other leaders, but they didn’t know them.) I’ve been in the situation.

When you are faced with a changed situation, the only true response it to change your attitude and respond with grace.

I saw 50-60 people do that this weekend. It’s a marvelous thing. And 1,400 kids got to play all their games and have a blast.

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Wasting Your Time Through Indecisiveness

May 13, 2016

Failure to make timely decisions kills motivation, productivity, effectiveness.

Life can get caught in mesh of not knowing what to do next. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple computers, took it to an almost insane level. Ever get up in the morning and wonder what to wear? You can waste considerable time. Jobs visited Japan and saw how company employees wore uniforms. He picked black pullover shirt and jeans. Never had to make that daily decision.

Of course he lived in California. As for me here in west Ohio, I’m looking at the weather forecast and mentally going through my closet and dresser trying to decide what to wear. What a  waste of time.

But it gets worse. You’re in a business. You have to decide on the next product, or whether to add a product. You lead a committee at a church or volunteer agency. You need to decide how to deal with someone or what the next project will be.

You’ve committed to “Getting Things Done” and made a fabulous list of all the next actions to move your projects forward. Which one to do?

Each little decision moves your day forward.

Train yourself to look in the mirror. Realistically. Catch yourself when you’ve lost momentum or motivation because you are sitting on a decision. You’ve studied it. And studied it. And worried about it. Your energy spirals downward. You can’t focus.

Decide. Now. Yes. No. Modify it.

Decide now and move on. You’ll feel better.

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It Takes A Golden Attitude

May 12, 2016

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” –wisdom of Jesus recorded by Matthew

The “Golden Rule.” It presages the later saying of Jesus when he was asked about the greatest commandment. He responded with the “Shema”(worship the Lord with all your heart, mind, body, and soul) and added “and your neighbor as yourself”.

I needed a quote for the “Morning Son” Yoga class (aside: there exists a segment of Christians who worry about everything including whether Yoga is Hindu worship–sheesh). I went to Jesus’ teachings found in early Matthew. This seemed appropriate.

Later conversations and a few Facebook updates reminded me that the church denomination I belong to–United Methodist–is holding its General Meeting currently. This is the body that gathers every four years to decide on policy matters.

People I know who are, well, rather conservative, are living in great angst for this week concerned that the church might officially proclaim that “homosexuals” are people.

That made me think how easily we throw labels around. A coach at the soccer tournament last week (from a wealthy Columbus suburb toward the fans of a less-wealthy suburb) yelled across the pitch, “They’re just a bunch of hillbillies who should get in their pickup trucks and get the hell out of here.”

Similar to “we don’t want no homosexuals in the clergy” or whatever their worry du jour is.

Well, these groups are people. Yep. Believe it or not. And neither chose it. They were born it. And, by the way, thanks to Jeff Foxworthy the contemporary word for hillbilly is redneck. As in, who cares? He can make being a redneck funny. But the coach wasn’t trying to be a stand-up comedian, even if people did laugh at him.

It is an age-old practice. Put a label on someone, then they don’t seem like people. Then I’m free to hate, disparage, discriminate.

We get so worried. Then we forget these simple little commands of Jesus. Other people are also creatures of God the Father. And he loves them. So should we. There is no need to get all worried. Just practice love. I know it’s hard. But Jesus didn’t say it would be easy. He just said what we should do.

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Live Out Your Faith

May 11, 2016

It was almost too good of a set up.

Yesterday, I wrote about living water. Then at a church meeting last night in a room by the door to the parking lot, a woman comes in and asks for a drink of water…

Thirty years ago, I volunteered to work with an organization whose purpose was to find a way to raise the incomes of the farmers of the world who were squeezed by giant corporations driving down commodity prices and who colluded with corrupt politicians to force them off their land.

They became wage earners with no land to grow vegetables to eat. Suddenly they went from living to destitute.

That organization approached the problem through politics. A strategy doomed to failure.

Today, Christians are taking the lead solving another social problem much as they did millennia ago with schools and hospitals.

Coffee is one of the world’s most traded commodities. Once again, farmers have been squeezed by market forces–but not by Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” but by power garnered by large corporations.

At one level, farmers began to cooperate and form cooperative ventures where they could sell a little higher up the food chain to get a better return. “Fair Trade” coffee. It may be found in other commodities, too. One trouble with Fair Trade for us consumers is that there is no standard. Not all co-ops are the same. Not always does the farmer get a fair shake.

Faithful coffee roasters have begun buying directly from the farmer removing several intervening steps in the process. Suddenly the farmer is rewarded for his effort. He can feed his family, hire others, and pay them enough to feed their families. Some earn enough to be able to bring their daughters back from sex trafficking. Yes, there are still parts of the world where men sell their daughters into the sex trade–usually because they can’t feed another mouth.

(It’s another topic, but don’t think only Mexico, Thailand or Malaysia. Human trafficking is a big business in the US, too. When men want sex and will pay for it….)

Look for Direct Trade coffee and support this ecosystem of helping people. Because it’s a Christian initiative, many of these farmers use some of their profits to start churches in their rural areas. It’s amazing how things multiply.

We solve global problems not through massive government programs but a bag of coffee at a time.

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Dehydrated

May 10, 2016

The wind blew across the soccer complex at a nearly constant 20 mph. Sun was shining.

Even just standing and walking, dehydration overtakes you before you realize it. When you begin feeling thirsty, it’s almost too late. Especially if you’re going to be running in a bit.

I suddenly realized that I had been so busy that I had not had anything to drink all morning. Put away 80 oz of water in the afternoon. Came back from the brink of dehydration.

Even if the dehydration is not severe during your normal days, you may notice a little less energy and enthusiasm. Maybe concentration isn’t quite there.

We become dehydrated spiritually, too.

One pressure follows another. Another decision needed. Another report to write. Another irate customer. Another employee situation to calm. Illness–your own or a loved one.

It’s hard to relax. Mentally step back and take a physical breath.

It’s spiritual dehydration.

I think of Jesus who met the woman at the well. Picture a hot, dusty day. Constant wind coming down from the mountains scraping across the plain. She needed water. He needed water. But she needed more.

Her life had gone into a spiral. One defeat after another. Trying to find salvation in a man, any man. It didn’t work. She was drying up spiritually. Outcast, tired, dispirited (in many ways).

Jesus asked for water. He was dry and  wanted to avoid physical dehydration. But then, maybe he just wanted to talk. So he asked for water.

Then he tells her that he can give her water that will always quench her thirst. She’ll never dehydrate wandering from affair to affair. Lost. Dry.

We, too, can know about a source to keep us from this dehydration of loss. It’s spiritual. We get in touch with it by reading and through right relationships. That’s our discipline. Quench our thirsts and live live fully, with energy, enthusiasm, purpose.

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On Becoming A Whole Person

May 9, 2016

Isn’t it a joy when you hear about someone or maybe have heard them speak and then you meet them and they are just like they seem?

And maybe you develop a relationship where you see them somewhat frequently in a variety of social settings, and then they still are that same person?

I was thinking about so many people I know whose words are so far different from their actual lives.

Their political philosophy says one thing (“I hate taxes” for example”) yet they have had jobs working for the state (paid by tax revenue) and retire with a pension (which many people don’t get and by the way also paid by taxes). I’ve seen people vote anti-union yet are union members and then complain about losing income and benefits.

But that’s trivial.

How about someone who speaks often of Jesus’ love, yet seems to love only self? How about someone always preaching “family values” or “Christian morals” and whose life is a shambles of moral decay?

Why do we run into so many people who are so clueless about themselves?

They can read the words of Jesus and other teachers on the subject, yet they do not see the irony that their lives do not come close to reflecting those values.

Jesus actually saw those people. And then he set the bar even higher for them. He saw people try to define morals such that they could achieve them yet still be able to point to others their shortcomings.

Matthew has a long passage of reporting Jesus’ teachings. (Chapters 5-7) It’s good–not for reading which is challenging but as a mirror.

Jesus said, for example, that it’s easy to talk about loving. Especially those who are like you. But, he said, the real test of love it to love and pray for those who are opposed to you. He raised the bar too high to be attainable. Especially when he said to be perfect just as your father in heaven is perfect.

But when the way we live reflects those values we preach, people see. And they will respect us.

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Starting Your Day

May 6, 2016

I’ve recently been slipping into the habit of reading the local newspaper first thing when I get up. Reading the Bible or other inspirational literature is better. I know it–intellectually. But the news is a quick read.

But then my thoughts turn to how the Republican Party could find itself in such disarray. Except that its own intellectuals have been writing for years about the impact of its policies on the widening income gap and how that surely will manifest itself in the anger of people, although socially conservative, angry at being left out of the economic pie.

And the along came Trump.

Well, that thinking can start a day off wrong.

Then there is the inordinate attention paid to athletes.

I think about spiritual formation. Sometimes that begins with people formation.

Elite athletes are picked out almost always by Jr. Hi. They are bigger, faster, skilled. Once picked, they are told that if they excel at their sport they’ll be millionaires. They are pampered. Given jackets and shirts and stuff under the table.

Some are elite enough to get a college scholarship. Some from the college ranks are elite enough to get huge contracts right away. Some are just under that elite of the elite. But still part of that personal development system. The system that usually looks the other way when some problem crops up.

Some (many) just don’t seem to understand the reason to develop as people, too. Where was that great mentor?

Today I read about a guy who tweeted he was going to get a try-0ut with the Cincinnati Bengals. Here’s a chance at living the dream and making enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Except, oops, a bullet-riddled car involved in a murder case shows up at his house. Is he trying to hide evidence? Or tamper? Or what? With everything to gain, why get involved in a homicide for pete’s sake.

Every day a new story. Pampered kid doesn’t understand consequences of stupid actions.

When are we as parents, coaches, churches, community going to devote ourselves to the personal and spiritual development of our youth? It’s not only the parents’ job. We all need to be aware of the people around us and try to help.

The loss of human potential is beyond sad.

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Switching Your Focus Not Multitasking

May 5, 2016

Multitasking remains the badge of honor for many in this era of high technology gadgets.

More than half of the people in the front row during keynote presentations at the software conference had smart phones out. How do I know they were using them? Well, the screens were lighted.

There are things called “notifications” on your devices. Maybe little red bubbles with a number inside. The number of new messages or alerts for that app. And you have how many apps?

It’s so bad that as I write this I glanced at the top of my screen and saw a notification for Adobe Creative Cloud. There must be an update. I clicked. Then came the thought–what the heck are you doing?

When I’m at home in a routine, I find it easier to focus on one thing and then the next. When I find myself drifting into thoughts of other tasks or writing, I can blink, look around, do something to return to my task at hand.

Because the reality is that we can really only focus on one thing at a time. Otherwise we are really just existing in a fog of partial thoughts and plan. Accomplishing nothing but stressing ourselves and those around us.

Traveling makes routine difficult. How do set aside private time for spiritual reading and prayer? How to not eat too much, drink too much, or become too tired such that we lose mental edge and focus.

I have at least eight major tasks to work on: four for assigning referees to various soccer competitions, normal writing, write a white paper for a client, write a post for a client, organize details for a mission trip. And there are more lurking just behind these. If I think of the whole group, I just surrender.

But if I focus on one thing at a time–even if for only 25 minutes per task–then I get a lot done.

People ask how I can get so much done. That’s my technique and my struggle. Also I waste very little time on things like TV. (We did watch two episodes we had recorded of Elementary last night. Even I need a break 😉  )

Decide ahead of time what you need to do to become the person you want to be. Then focus on one thing at a time. That eliminates at least one source of stress.

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