A Baby...

Christmas. A baby born in a manger in a place far away and a time long ago. But still celebrated today. There is no question that the date chosen for the celebration of this particular baby's birth is arbitrary...and tied to the date of another ancient celebration. No big deal. And the exact date is not the point of the whole celebration, anyway. The point of the celebration is bigger and more cosmic than A place, or A time...but it is about A child.

If you have been around a baby recently...or can remember what it is like to have been around one, then you know that they want your total and unidivided attention! Pretty much 24-7.
For the community I live-and-move-and-have-my-being in, we owe THIS baby that same thing.
Since the terror or excitment (depends on your point of view, entirely) of "Black Friday," and then "Cyber Monday" up to the very last shopping day, it is designed to be, and has been, a complete commercial distraction.
But now (at present it is about 10 days before Christmas, but I am focused on finalizing my Christmas Eve homily)...now, on Christmas Eve, that Silent and more-or-less Holy Night, its all about THE baby.
In THIS baby we find that every soul can learn its worth, every wrong can be set right, peace can outlive war, and darkness cannot overcome light!
The manger was in no way anything like the warm and comfy setting the baby in the above picture is experiencing. Animals drooled in it. Fluff-dryed blankets were not yet invented. We're not at all clear on the marital or non-marital status of the parents. Ah, but THAT baby. In THAT baby the hopes and fears of all the years were met...and resolved.
Give that your undivided attention for just a bit.

Everybody's Gotta Be Somewhere

As of right now:
-I am in Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way galaxy...
-I am in my home, in the living room, lounging on the couch...
-I am with my wife, Elizabeth and step-daughter, Katie...
-It is about 11:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time...
Everybody's gotta be somewhere, and this is where I am. As of now.

Where are you?
Take all the time you need to answer...I'll be here when you get back.

Taking stock of where one is from time to time is probably wise. Am I on track to be where I want to be five years from now? Am I where I want to be education-wise, profession/job/employment-wise, health-wise?
Do I need to make some course-corrections? Is my next move forward, backward, upward, onward, or would I do well to hunker down for a spell?
Back in 2009, Samir Bharadwa suggested posing the following questions to help get a fix on where one is at any given time:
-Where was I back then?
-Where did I want to go?
-Am I getting there?
-Do I still want to go there?
-What stopped me from getting there?
-Did I overreach?
-Did I under perform?
-Did I just not know clearly where I was going?
-What held me back? What distracted me?
-What pushed me in the right direction?
-How does where I wanted to go back then gel with what I now know, to change my path forward?

Well, everybody's gotta be somewhere. I'm good with where I am right now.
And you?

The End of the Line

Who knows when any of us will reach the end of the line? No one, that's who? The big "end of the line," I mean. You know: That's all there is, there ain't no more...Its all over, but the shoutin'...No more tomorrows.
I am 66...fast headed toward 67, and I don't expect to reach the end of the line anytime soon. But I don't know that for sure. Nobody knows that for sure, about me or about anyone else.

So, since I have an unknown amount of time left, it would seem wise that I use that time in ways that move me forward, not backward; that move me in constructive ways, not destructive ways; that lead upward and not downward.
I've run into some dead-ends in my time, haven't you? Sure you have! But dead-ends aren't the end of the line...dead ends are simply invitations to try new directions.
I've failed in my time. Many, many times. Everyone has. But failures aren't the end of the line...failures are simply (even if they really hurt at the time) evidence that you have made attempts and learned from them.
I've lost my way once or twice in my time. I am tempted to think I am not alone in this. But being lost is not the end of the line...being lost may mean setting a new destination, it may mean asking some one or some power to light the path for you, or it may mean retracing your steps until you come to a previous location that is familiar and trustworthy.
And so, since I have not yet reached the end of the line, I want to point out the wisdom of the "word art" picture that is a part of the blog-post: There is always (so long as I am on this side of whatever comes after this life) a way forward. Always. A. Way. Forward. Of course, I will have to seek out that Way and then determine to follow it, as best I can.
And, sometimes I may have to blaze that way forward by myself. Being afraid of going it alone, will not work. Setting off on the way forward can be a solo effort.
But, hey, its not the end of the line! So, there is that.

TRADITION

There aren't a whole lot of traditions in my family. Used to be that Christmas presents only got opened on Christmas morning...but some of the family now opens one (or maybe more) on Christmas Eve. Used to be that my sons and I played Sunday afternoon basketball games in the driveway...those days are long gone. There are some food traditions: Pasquales Pizza will draw anybody within driving range to whatever family unit has purchased it. Hungarian goulash gets everybody around the table...the occasion becomes a special one just because that dish is being served. In recent years, most family get-togethers include games of euchre. Since the sons are grown and have their own families and homes we no longer fight over which Christmas tree ornament gets hung in the more prominent place on the tree: Notre Dame or Purdue. Tradition does dictate that when we do all gather to open presents for whatever celebration, the youngest goes first and the oldest goes last.

And then there is the above twist on the word "tradition" that gives it a negative slant.
Its true, of course, we do sometimes keep doing it the way we have always done it just to keep our comfort-level in check, and ward-off any change. That's too bad, I think.
Don't get me wrong, I do like things to run smoothly and predictably. And, truth is, the older I get the more I am not as excited about change as I once was. I don't think I am at the old-and-crotchety stage yet, but I can probably see it from here.
In writing this blog-post I want to remind myself that always doing it the way I have always done it insures that real life will pass me by...surely and quickly.
So, let's celebrate traditions that keep us grounded in where we have come from and allow us to recall heritage and home, but let's not refuse to greet each new day as one in which new possibilities abound! And maybe new traditions begin.

Speaking of the Truth...

Can you remember the first lie you ever told? If you want me to soften it: Can you remember the first time you enhanced the truth a little?
Here's another one: Can you remember the most recent lie you told?
One more: Can you remember the most recent lie someone told you?
Honks you off when someone does that, doesn't it? Me, too.

The truth will honk me off! Really?
Remember the famous movie scene where Tom Cruse tells Jack Nicholson, "You can't handle the truth!!!" Sure you do. If you don't remember that scene then you need to stop reading this blog-post right now and go rent "A Few Good Men" and watch it!
OK, now that we all are familiar with that line, we need to think about how true the line is in the picture I posted above. There are plenty of times that the truth has the power to really honk me off! Probably you, too.
The trick is to not stay mad only, but to do something about the maddening truth you have just learned.
If you need to apologize to someone, go do it.
If you need to change some behavior, do it.
If you need to let folks know you are changing some aspect of your life based on this new truth you have learned, do it.
If you need to go march, or demonstrate, or rage against the machine, do it.
Be very careful, however, that you get the truth straight...it would be a real shame to fall for another lie.
Its probably a good thing to remember that the whole truth is not always found in one big clump somewhere, more often it is found spread around in several locations and must be pieced together very carefully.

Follow...

I follow the New York Yankees' scores. I follow the Notre Dame football and basketball team scores.
I follow about a half-dozen bloggers' posts.
I follow traffic laws...mostly; that speed-limit thing on the open road not so much sometimes.
I follow several TV shows..."Hawaii 5-0", "Breaking Bad", and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are the current biggies for me.
If I am reduced to having to read them, I follow written instructions as best I can.

I do not folow anyone on Twitter, although I do follow the posts of many friends and family members on FaceBook.
Sometimes actually following...not merely virtually following...is kinda tricky. Tricky in the sense that to really follow someone (like the picture above suggests) means knowing and understanding (as best one can) the person you are following; tricky in the sense that to really follow someone may just get you to places and positions you would never have thought possible; tricky in the sense that to really follow someone may call forth more humility than you thought you could exercise.
Well, happy following! Make sure, of course, that who you choose to follow is worthy of your time, and trust, and energy.

Lessons From the Game of Euchre

When the family gathers it is not unusual for a euchre game, or two, or more to break out. We are Indiana people...and I am pretty sure that right after basketball, euchre is the state game.
Now of course, in the game of euchre card suits are played against each other and using a card from the suit that is "trump" on a pile of played cards in a hand that are of a different suit means you have "trumped" that trick (a card hand in this game is called a trick), and that you win that hand/trick. Win three of the five tricks in a hand and you score a point (that is, if you or your partner named trump that hand; if the other team named trump, you would get two points...for euchering them); win all five tricks in a hand and you get two points; go alone (play the other two-person team by yourself, not using your partner's cards) and take all five tricks and you score four points. That's all clear, right?

Well, as we approach the weekend that marks 10 years since the events of September 11, 2001...and especially since it is on a Sunday and I am a pastor in a Christian Church...it is important for me to on-purpose direct our attention to some lessons learned from euchre...
Lesson: Peace trumps war!
Lesson: Forgiveness trumps retaliation!
Lesson: Universal Community trumps nation or tribe!
Lesson: Love trumps hate!

As the picture shows, some journeys take great courage! I hope we have enough courage to put those four lessons-learned-from-euchre to practice as we observe the solemnity of this weekend.

It Is Hot!

Central Indiana, along with other places in our country, is setting records this summer for high temperatures, and strings-of-days with high temperatures. Its been in the 90s for a very long stretch of days where I live. It is hot!

Temperature extremes don't sit well with me. I do not like bone-chilling cold. I also do not like sweating-the-minute-you-walk-out-the-door heat. I prefer my temperature range to be, oh say 60 - 80 degrees. Yes, that would work well for me.
Having lived my entire life in either Indiana or southern California, I have never enjoyed my optimal temperature range (my OTR). And of course, beyond the temperature being what it is these days there is the humidity to complain about. And the heat-index (I don't remember having that measurement of discomfort back in the day). And no-zone action day alerts. And what sun-screen number I should apply before going outside during daylight hours.
Here's what I would propose for weather-reporting types: No matter what the temperature really is, report it as being between 60 and 80 degrees. Do NOT report the dew-point, the heat-index, the humidity, the wind-chill factor...nor any of the other fancy ways you have of making me feel miserable. Just keep it simple and let's see if I can adjust better to my surroundings.
Please. It is very imprtant to me to live within my OTR!
And, if you knew me well, it would be important to you, too!

What My Vehicle Says...

Bumper Stickers...that's the topic, bumper stickers. Currently I have just one sticker on my CR-V (its on the rear window, not the bumper)...its from the Ron Jon Surf Shop in Ft. Myers, FL. The Obama sticker I had on the other side of my rear window was taken off by someone while I was visiting with a member of my church at an extended care facility. Obviously, whoever removed that sticker did not approve of my political persuasion.

Here are some bumper stickers I can recall having seen: "The best things in life aren't things." "Condoms are easier to change than diapers." "Don't get even...Get odd!" "Jesus loves you but I'm his favorite." "If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people happy?" "Money Talks/Chocolate Sings."
What does your vehicle say? Does it offer insight to those who are following you in traffic? Are you serving up laughter? Are you making a political or religious statement that you want folks to ponder or agree with? I had no idea what the Chevy in front of me the other day was trying to convey, but I did laugh when I read "What if the Hokey Pokey IS what its all about?"
I was concerned as to whether or not the driver of an old rusted green pick-up truck on HWY 45 late one night was being serious...the bumper sticker read "I buy cheap beer so I can afford expensive ammunition!"
And, like you, I have seen my share of crude bumper stickers...the kind that make me sad that my young daughter has to see when she is riding with me.
I once had someone slap a bumper sticker on my car without my permission...adding to my anger over that incident was the fact that it promoted a talk-radio host I consider nutty and offensive.
Every red 2007 Honda CR-V pretty much looks the same when you drive up behind them...except mine has that Surf Shop sticker (I don't surf, but the sticker was thrown in the bag along with some T-shirts I purchased on vacation one year...and I really enjoy my vacations to Florida.) It does make picking out my vehicle in a parking lot easier...there being quite a few red CR-Vs in Bloomington.
My vehicle says, I suppose, that I like surfing (not so much), or surf shops (they do have some really great T-shirts), and southwest Florida (that I do!). Since there is only one sticker my vehicle might also say that I don't have an agenda to push all that much, or I am bland...maybe boring, or that I prefer for you to see my nice red paint job uncluttered.
Probably I should think about two additional stickers: Notre Dame and New York Yankees.
If you send me one or both of those, I will jazz up my vehicle's message.

Memorial Day 2011

I am 66 years old! I have celebrated many Memorial Day holidays.
My earliest memories are of riding on the Boy Scout float down Edison Road in Lydick, IN. The parade began, I think, at the far western end of Edison Road, near Mutt's gas station...or maybe it began at the school on Quince Road, moved south to Edison and then turned east...it moved slowly past Clyde Peterson's store, the tavern, Marge's Beauty Shop...on past the Hardware Store, and the Gleaner's Hall, and the Ice Cream Parlor...then up the slight hill where it passed the front yard of my grandparent's home...and ended somewhere not too far past Chip Baginski's house...I think.
The parade took place during the running of the Indy 500, and so we had our transistor radios tuned to "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Mario was my guy! And those Andy Granatelli turbines, remember those? A.J. Foyt was the bad-guy...not really sure why, just never did like his style, I guess.

I don't remember decorating graves. Maybe we did and I just don't remember it. My father had served in WW2...and my uncle Don had served, I believe...maybe there were more who had done so. I don't believe we had any family members die while in service to their country.
I do remember times when I have been disappointed in the over-the-top celebration of war and militarization on Memorial Day.
So far as I can tell the intention of Memorial Day is to honor those men and women who died in America’s wars, but it is not to glory in militarism or bless war. From the beginning of what was then called “Decoration Day” in 1868, and its post-WWI promotion by a lady named Ms. Moina Michael, the focus of the holiday was/is to honor our war dead. Early on there was an emphasis on supporting the many widows and orphans war leaves in its wake. And, decorating the graves of the war-dead has always been part of the celebration.
I live in a place where a 500-mile race just might be the biggest thing happening this Memorial Day Weekend. We often do that, don't we: turn old holiday celebrations into new and different holiday celebrations. Maybe there is room in the 3-day weekend for both.

Not Always What It Seems...

I play golf.
That is to say, I own golf equipment, have enough money to afford greens fees, and can set aside time on most good-weather Thursday mornings to navigate 18 holes layed out over some often quite beautiful acreage.
It is not to say, I PLAY GOLF like folks who can actually PLAY GOLF.

Do you like the photo?
Serene, isn't it? Relaxes you just to look at it on a computer screen.
Would you like to be in the picture? Just somehow lifted away from where you are right now and plunked down in the picture...say reclining on that knoll just in front of the tree straight ahead?
Yeah, me too.
But it isn't always what it seems, is it? Whatever the "it" may be.
That beautiful scene marks the fairway just in front of a tee-box...it leads to a not-so-large, textured green about 545 yards away. Its a par 5. For me, maybe a 6 or 7.
It looks great...but it can be the start of a really terrible score if you cannot hit the ball straight and long, and then putt with some skill.
Somedays I am up to the challenge. Most days, I am not. (Whoever invented this "par" thing, and why isn't this particular hole a par 6 or 7?)
But it is inviting. And it is a beautiful patch of land. And the fact tha I keep returning to the challenge says something about how addicting trying to get it right can be...even if the challenge is not always what it seems.
FORE! (That's not my score, that's just what I am supposed to holler when it looks like my golf ball may be headed in your direction instead of where I aimed it.)

One More Memory of Back In the Day

I cannot remember the first drive-in movie theatre I went to. I am sure it was with my parents...and most likely it was a Walt Disney movie. I am sure we went in a Studebaker. Probably it was the theatre on Western Avenue between South Bend and Lydick.

There are still a very few drive-ins open for business. There is one on HWY 67 north of Martinsville...and every time I drive by it I remember how it was back in the day. The refreshment stand. The folks who arrived in their pick up truck, pulled into the slot backwards and viewed from lawn chairs on the truck bed. The third feature, which was usually a loser...although once in a while it was a winner: I saw "Night of the Living Dead" as a third feature with my boys when they were quite young; also saw a flick titled "Homebodies," which, if you can find you should give a look.
I saw my first 007 movie at a drive-in.
Date night was always better at the drive-in.
Defrosters being what they were in those old Studebakers (the only car my dad drove while I was growing up, and my first car, as well), it was often times not the best movie viewing at the drive-in.
It was often too cold or too hot at the drive-in, but watching a movie on a screen about the size of a big barn was worth it, I guess.
Probably I wouldn't really enjoy going to a drive-in theatre these days, but there are times I think I sure would like to give it a try.

I Don't Know the Answer, but I Am Willing to Guess...

I read several blogs...mostly those of folks I know, friends. Mike Mather is someone I know, a friend, and in his blog recently he posed this question: What Get's God Pissed Off? (To see how Mike answered that question you can go to his blog, "bibfeldt's inquiry.")

I wonder if God is distressed when I give up the quest to become the best "me" I can become. If so, I have honked God off many, many times!
Quitting is easier than continuing on.
Giving up is easier than giving my all.
Going back is easier than moving ahead.
The good old days are safer than the unknown future.
Doing the same-old same-old is easier than seeking a whole new future.
As a recent best-selling book pointed out "Good is the enemy of Best." And so, I settle...I settle for less than I could become. I settle for what is instead of striving for what could be.

I don't know the answer to Mike's really good question...but I am willing to guess that I have disappointed family, friends, colleagues, and maybe even God when I sell out to what is instead of continuing the search for what could be.

Sweet - Tart

When was the last time you ate/enjoyed a cinnamon coated apple? Maybe at the County or State Fair? Maybe on vacation at a seashore boardwalk? Whevever it was, can you recall the taste right now?

The sweet and the tart together...or, more in line with the order in which the taste expereince goes: first the tart and then the sweet.

Its like that with so many things, isn't it? First the tart, then the sweet. I wonder how that plays out in our thinking about the Holy Week/Easter experience: The evil that displays itself as Jesus is tracked down and murdered because he is causing way too much consternation for the political and religious establishments...the slaughter of the innocent...and then, when its all over, upon reflection (and through the eyes of hope and faith), the sweet belief that evil has not overcome good, wrong has not prevailed against right, even death has no victory over life...what a powerful jolt to the senses!

Happy Easter! Enjoy one of life's real sensual treats...just remember to be ready to taste the tart before the sweet!

Movie Music...

I visited my mom, and my sister and her family in Huntsville, Alabama over the New Year's holiday. One evening we went to see the movie "True Grit." The original movie won John Wayne an Acadmey Award...which many folks thought was awarded not so much for his work in that particular movie but for his life-long work in films. It was, to my thinking, an OK movie, but nothing to write home about. The new re-make of the movie was, to my thinking, much better than the first. It was more pithy, more tense, more true to what I suppose life would have been like in the time in which the movie was set. And it most certainly was more true to the human nature I have any speaking acquaintance with, than was the original.

The background music, woven throughout the movie, was the old gospel song, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." I didn't expect that...in fact it took me some time to recognize the song as it played...sort of sparse-like, and in a country-music bluegrass style. A lady named Iris DeMent sings the song...what a wonderful voice she has.
I remember singing that song (and others like it...gospel songs) in the little-town church I grew up in. I was informed in seminary that my appreciation for these kinds of songs showed my low-brow taste in church music. Hymns are about "we" while gospel songs are about "me," I was told, and that would be a problem for someone going into church ministry.
That may be. But I took a very pleasant trip back in time during my watching of "True Grit." I watched the movie but let my memory travel back to small-town norhtern Indiana in the 1950s and early 60s.
I don't want to actually go back to "the good old days" (if they really ever were that), but I do admit that hearing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" while watching a good movie was a most pleasant surprise. Like good comfort food, I think.
Come to find out, the song was used in another movie, a 1943 film titled "The Human Comedy", starring Mickey Rooney. Like the new "True Grit," it was nominated for several Academy Awards.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

You know you started humming or singing that song when you saw those lyrics!

Embrace Your Imperfections

So, I read this on-line article that offered 7 ways to become more approachable. I don't think of myself as being unapproachable, but I figured a quick read couldn't hurt...and maybe I could apply the time spent reading the article toward my required annual continuing-education requirement.

One of the ways the article suggested as a path to becoming more approachable is to "embrace your imperfections."

Well, I don't know if that is an area of my life I really want to open up and deal with. Imperfections. Seems to me I am about as perfect as I'm gonna get...at least any time soon.
Honestly, of course, I am not perfect in so many ways: not a perfect dad, haven't been a perfect husband, not close to being a perfect pastor/preacher, never gonna be perfect at golf! Haven't bowled a 300 game! Haven't pitched a perfect game! Haven't written the great novel!

There's so much imperfection to embrace, in my case. And even if I do embrace it, how is that going to make me more approachable? Do I want to be more approachable? Maybe I could be perfect in my unapproachableness!

Good thing that God and the occasional human being say they love us and really mean it...even if we aren't perfect!

A little love every now and then makes it all better...

Moving On...

I cannot right now number all the places I have lived in my lifetime. I know the names of the cities and towns involved. Places like Lydick, Los Angeles, Greencastle, Vincennes, Avon...and more. Most of my years have been spent in locations in or around Indianapolis. In some of the towns I have lived in more than one place.

This is a picture of my current home in Bloomington. Nice home. Nice town.
Living in many places is now the norm for most Americans. It wasn't always so. Some of us old-timers can remember hearing stories from our parents and grandparents about how they lived their entire life in the house where they had been born.
But life changes...and lifestyles change...and nowadays most of us move on from one home to another quite often. I wonder what we have lost (if anything) with the advent of this new way of living (from place to place)?
I suspect we have less attachment to a "place" as "home" than did the generations that came before us. And so, it becomes necessary for us to work hard at making "where we are" a wonderful and memorable "home" while we are there.
Moving on is not always easy...not always fun...not always what we would choose if the choice were only up to us. Maybe moreso than ever, "Home is Where the Heart Is."

Madness in March (April, too)

College basketball at NCAA tournament time...so good and so much fun to watch. If you fill out a brackets chart and play against yourself or others there is even more reason to enjoy the March Madness (although the Final Four play on the first weekend in April).
Its been a very good year for Notre Dame, so I will be hoping they make it to the final four...they have a decent shot, I think.
If you are old enough to remember, then this time of year takes you back to 1979...back to "The Game." Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird! Sure, it was Indiana State vs. Michigan State...but not really. What it was was Bird against Johnson. What it was was a college basketball fan's dream-come-true.

And there is always a chance that another dramatic match-up will take place in the tournament. Always a chance that a tremendous individual effort will carry a team to the final weekend. Always a chance that your team will be crowned the champion.
Last year, as an Indiana resident, it was great to see the Bulldogs of little Butler University of the Horizon League come to within one point of winning it all against the mighty Duke Blue Devils.
At this time of year...there is always a chance. Bring it on!

Enough, Already...Seriously!

Here in the midwest...central southern Indiana, to be exact, we have had enough, already...seriously! Enough snow. Enough ice. Enough school "snow days." Enough!
Now, I spent the first 18 years of my life in South Bend, Indiana, where we got much more snow and much more winter weather than we do here in Bloomington. And I am aware that even Indiana does not suffer extreme winter weather like some other parts of the country. But its all relative, and we have had enough, already...seriously!
I've gotten to that "enough, already" point at other times in my life. You have, too, I would guess. Enough, already of people being unkind. Enough, already, of leaders taking us for a ride. Enough, already of institutions rigging the game in their favor. Enough, already of the fates dealing me a losing hand.
And, enough, already of me not living up to my better self.

Enough, already of my being unkind. Enough, already of my taking people for a ride. Enough, already of my rigging the game so that it favors me. Enough, already of my dealing other folks a losing hand.
Enough, already...seriously!

Enough snow and ice and winter weather...there is golf to be played soon!