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!

Being Prepared...

Its just about time for Santa to do his thing again this year. Several years ago my daughter told "the man with all the toys" (to quote a Beach Boys' lyric) what she would like him to bring her for Christmas. And we prepared for an expected Christmas-Eve visit. We did our part to make Santa feel welcome when he brought those items that had been requested. We set out hot chocolate and home-made sugar cookies. And, my daughter wrote Santa a note. The note said "Thank you" for the gifts that would be placed under the tree and it also asked this question: "Are you right-handed or left-handed?" I'm not sure why that was important to my daughter, but that was the question. You would want to know that Santa answered that question to my daughter's satisfaction.

In the church, over the past four Sundays, we have been preparing for Christmas 2010. We have invited ourselves to look forward to the annual arrival of the incarnation of Love, and Joy, and Hope, and Peace. It occurs to me that a note could be left at the church after the 11:00 p.m. Christmas Eve worship service that might offer a "Thank you" to God for the Gift and the gifts we know God has and will bring our way. Maybe we could also ask God to answer a question...not which-handed God is, but maybe something like "Why would you do this wonderful thing for us every year?" Or, maybe "Is there something you would like us to do in return for all you have done for us?"

That could prove interesting.

I have heard (and seen in print) several folks lament that they hear "Happy Holidays" more than they hear "Merry Christmas" at this time of year. Some are vowing not to shop at stores who advertise their goods with "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." The complaints go on.
And so, I wonder...I wonder because I do not know for sure...although I do suspect.
-I wonder what persons of other faith traditions in our neighborhoods think about being expected to wish folks, or have themselves wished with, "Merry Christmas."
-I wonder why some folks think that how the holiday season is advertised defines the holiday season.
-I wonder if some who are really upset with the lack of enough "Merry Christmas" wishes and advertisements will nonetheless consider Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, or even the Grinch as suitable Merry Christmas symbols.
-I wonder if behind some of the complaints about the shortage of "Merry Christmas" greetings is really a nostalgia for wonderful Christmas holidays gone bye...for returning things to the way it used to be in an imagined better time of life.
-I wonder how central the Christ of "Merry Christmas" is to our lives the remainder of the year; and what greetings are exchanged that might display that.

Me? Are you sure?

Ever get the feeling that you had been asked (called, prevailed upon, singled out, required) to do something you (1) didn't feel adequate to do, and/or (2) thought somebody else could do better? Yeah, me too.
Maybe, though, I am up to the task. Maybe I should get past that first-blush objection. Maybe I really do have the skill, the energy, the tenacity, the deep-down ability to do this thing! There are other things I have done that are something like what I'm being asked to do now...maybe I can recall how I accomplished those jobs and make some application here.
And, I have friends! Maybe I could call in a few or many of them to consult with me on what looms ahead. Maybe one or more of them could actually offer expert instruction. Or, maybe one of them could give me a really inspiring pep-talk about how I can do this thing...and do it well, in fact!
Maybe, come to find out, I am the only person who can do what is being asked of me. Maybe the work is so personal that I alone can accomplish it. Maybe God, or the Fates, or my family, or my community sees in me something worthy of this calling that has been foisted upon me.
Maybe its just you-n-me, God. Maybe its best if I just stop thinking about it, worrying about it, stalling around...and get to it! If I don't get to it now, who knows, lightning may not strike here again!

The Bible? What?

Interesting question from a webinar a friend participated in recently (question posed by Brian McLaren): "What do we mean when we say the Bible is authoritative?"
Yeah, what do we mean? First, I think it would be near impossible to get too many people to agree on a satisfactory answer to that question. Second, now we can probably tackle the question.
Does every word in the Bible have authority over my life? No way! Argue all you want about how the Hebrew Scriptures are to be considered relevant for today, but I'm not gonna stone anybody! I have no idea what to make of the stories about God actually killing or ordering the killing of human beings! Even though its forbidden, I am going to get the hair on my temples cut at Great Clips today! You get the point...there are some major chunks of the Bible that I do not consider authoritative in any way, shape, or form.
There are portions of the New Testament I do not consider relevant to life in my world today, either.
So, Brian McLaren, here is my answer to your really good question: I consider the best of the Bible to be authoritative. And for me, the best of the Bible is the life and teaching of Jesus.
I am a big fan of Jesus' graceful way of living and his sobering challenges to our thinking and acting. For me, the Bible gets us to Jesus and then leaves us alone to encounter him for the rest of our lives.