Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.                                               II Corinthains 5:17

Change is inevitable- except from a vending machine…                                                   Robert C. Gallagher

Who likes change, raise your hand? Well, a few hands went up, but mostly, people do not like change. We get set in our routines and we get comfortable. Then, something happens, and we need to respond in a different way than we are accustomed. New responses challenge us. We may need to learn new things, or we may need to change our habits or behaviors in order to restore or maintain our health, be it physical, spiritual or mental.

Change can be good- even very good- but we often resist it because it causes disruption in our lives. A new job, a new relationship, a new diet, a new residence, or any major changes causes stress. Even positive changes cause us stress as we adjust to new patterns in our life.

Change is inevitable, but somehow we are often surprised by it. So, if you are facing some changes in your life, allow yourself some time to accommodate. Change takes time for us to adjust. Indeed, history is not recollections of past events, history is the story of change.  We are embracing a new year, one that will bring changes into our lives. As we rely upon God’s provision, we need not fear those changes.

Prayer: Lord, lead us into this new year with the assurance of your provision, Amen

Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.                                 Mark 10:44-45 (The Message)

I have always been a student of leadership principles. I love the work of people like Adam Grant, Malcolm Gladwell, Rev. Michael Slaughter, Brenee Brown and Jim Collins among others. One of the wise quotes of Jim Collins is “True leadership only exists if people follow when they have the freedom not to.”  If someone is coerced into doing the things you would want them to do, you have not exercised leadership, you have exerted power.

He goes on to say that (what he calls) a “Level 5” executive has the attributes of “Building enduring greatness in an organization through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.”

His concept on the paradox of the humility of leadership is a powerful principle that I have always seen as a key element in excellent organizations. This humility sets a powerful culture from the very top of any organization. If a leader is willing to hear and implement better ideas than his/her own, is willing to own mistakes, is not driven by the need for adulation and praise, and can set a collegial tone, that leader is one worthy of a loyal following in any organization.

Jesus, as servant leader, is a great example of humble leadership. He is worthy to follow!  

Prayer: Lord, impress upon us the paradox of being a good servant in order to be a great leader, Amen

Going to the “wayback machine” today in thinking about how television influenced the culture when I was a kid growing up. Most of us kids watched the same shows, because there were only three networks, and at any given time, there was probably a good chance that the shows we liked would be viewed by many of us.

So, for example, at school the day after a particularly adventurous show of Zorro the night before, the vast majority of kids were abuzz about how cool it was when Zorro stabbed that guy with his sword. You know, boy stuff…

Or the day after the Alamo episode on Disney’s Davy Crockett series. Wow, we were mesmerized. Come on, admit it, you just sang the ballad of Davy Crockett – I know, it’s OK!

The point here is that with the limited amount of TV shows back then, a large percentage of people watched the same things. News was consumed by watching Walter Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley, or maybe John Cameron Swayze. Mostly, the three networks were how people consumed news in those days, and there was a certain uniformity of reporting the news. If there was a political slant, it was pretty slight and very subtle.

There was a unifying effect when choices were limited. For example, in 1983 viewership of the M.A.S.H. final show was 106 million people or 45.5% of the viewing audience. By 2019, the final episode of the wildly popular Big Bang Theory reached just 18 million people or about 5.4% of the viewing audience. By 2019 there were hundreds of choices on TV and myriad streaming options.  

The things in media that tended to unify the American culture are now fragmented to the point that people now live in media silos – narrow places where there is unity only among a smaller and smaller group.

I will talk more about this phenomenon in future blogs. Meanwhile, enjoy the Davy Crockett theme song. You’re welcome!  

With things back to normal, Paul called the disciples together and encouraged them to keep up the good work in Ephesus. Then, saying his good-byes, he left for Macedonia. Traveling through the country, passing from one gathering to another, he gave constant encouragement, lifting their spirits and charging them with fresh hope.                                                           Acts 20:1-2 (Living Bible)

One of the techniques I use in Solution Focused Therapy is scaling. This is a simple idea- one that people use all the time. You know, I ask you to give a rating to something, a movie, a book, a performance. “One to ten, where do you rate that?”

I will ask people to rate their symptoms in that way, such as “On a scale of one to ten, how is your anxiety, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.” This causes the client to really consider the severity of the symptoms, and it gives them a way to report them. More importantly, it gives us a baseline of where we are and where we can go.

So, when we discuss results of homework the next session, we can have a somewhat clearer idea of symptom reduction.  Did that homework help? If so, we may be going in a good direction. This also shows the client that there is progress, even if it is a move of one point, or maybe even .5 point. Yes, we can use half-points too!

Solution focused therapy uses practical and simple techniques to achieve basic goals that are small, attainable and measurable. If something works, we keep doing it. If it does not work well, we try something else. The point here is that there is a solution to every problem and we just need to keep trying until we find something that helps.

Giving hope and practical solutions helps the client feel some control over what may have seemed hopeless or unattainable.  Our job as counselor is to be that one who comes alongside to give that direction and feedback, as well as giving encouragement to continue when things are hard.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see that there is a solution to every problem if we can see it in proper perspective, Amen

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts                                                                                         Isaiah 55:8-9

Our family had a dog years ago, a delightful little rescue dog named Maggie. As most pet owners, we had a lot of great “Maggie stories”. Such as her propensity to know when garbage day arrived so that she could run off and scope out the neighborhood trash. One memorable evening, she came home with a pizza crust hanging from her mouth. She looked like the gangster who had a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he interrogated some poor victim. Maggie was a joy!

She lived to be 17 years old. I think that was because she was well loved and cared for by us. Mostly, I think, it was because she was a “mixed breed” dog. Yes, she was a mutt. Mutts, you see, tend to live longer than pure breed dogs. Why? Because genetic diversity protects animals from certain illnesses and conditions that more “monoculture” animals may succumb to.  

In nature, the more genetic diversity you possess, the better protected you are from inbreeding problems that lower resistance to disease. It also eliminates inbred hereditary problems. For example, the classic “royals diseases” porphyria and hemophilia, were caused by the inbreeding marriage practices that royal families in the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th century used to make political alliances. The so-called “pure royal blood lines” were actually tickets to poor health and early deaths.

So, as we consider God’s creation and his love of diversity, we once again see the paradox of man’s wisdom versus God’s plans. So called pure blood lines are deceptions, and lead to evil practices such as eugenics- a philosophical and political rage of late 19^th and early 20^th century. Indeed, in the 1930’s the culmination of such thinking was the rise of the racist regime of Adolf Hitler.

God made a diverse creation for us to enjoy. So, let’s celebrate God’s diversity.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your plans, Amen

Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should Psalm 90:12 (Living)

…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.                                                           Matthew 6:10 (NIV)

As we start a new year, we become aware of the days in that new year- 365 to be exact. We look upon a new year as a fresh start, and it is. It is a good time to make resolutions for change. We also understand that no days are guaranteed to us. In the words of a sports analogy injury update- we are all “day-to-day”.

So, as we begin this new year, we rightfully want to make some little changes to make our life a little better, a little healthier. As we do that, we also need to remember that we are to make each day count toward a mission greater than ourselves. We have been put on earth to make it a little more “heaven-like”. We are to try to bring some eternal Kingdom life into life on Earth.

In order to do that, we need to be aware of what our personal mission is, and to keep in mind that Jesus would have us make life better for those around us. By doing so, we make life better for ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, help us to spend our days wisely in mission, Amen

Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ, who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. And he humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminal’s death on a cross                                                                                                                                Philippians 2:5-8 (Living Bible)

A discussion with a friend the other day brought up the idea of limits regarding God. When God created us with the ability and freedom to make choices, he put some limits on himself. As an omnipotent God, he can do whatever he pleases to do. He could have created us in whatever way he chose. He could have made it that we could not ever choose evil or to never disobey him. He could have made us into compliant beings who could never reject him or his love.

But he didn’t.

God allows us to make choices, both good and bad- choices which affect us and others in his creation. He gives us the opportunity to love him as he has loved us, or to love ourselves more than him or anyone else. He has given us the gift of free will.

We love our freedom! At the same time, we rail against God and others when things do not fall in line with what we want. That “free will thing” cuts both ways.

God loves us enough to give us our freedom to choose, even if it is not his best plan for us. He wants what is best for us, but we often choose the path of quick relief and pleasure- a path that leads to short cuts and to addictions. Yes, anything that makes us feel good immediately has the potential to be addictive. God gives us the choice, and he wants us to choose the path of the long- haul disciplines, not short cuts to feel good.

So, God gives choices to us, and in doing so, he deliberately limits himself. Indeed, sending Jesus to earth was the ultimate example of limiting his omnipotence for affiliation with his creation.

What a loving concept.

Prayer: It is hard for us to understand the plan of limiting yourself for us. Thank you for showing us that kind of love, Amen

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!                                                                            II Corinthains 5:17

May I extend my heartfelt wishes for a happy and healthy 2025! This of course is the time of year when we make some resolutions for change. We all can benefit from some tweaks to our behaviors and routines that will make our life better, and perhaps better for those around us.

Just a couple thoughts today as we consider those resolutions. First, always start small when you are trying to make a change. Change one small thing, and you find that suddenly lots of things change. Small changes give us “traction” to continue those positive healthy behaviors that end up being “big things”.

Consider also, if appropriate, sharing your resolution with another. This can spur accountability and gives us more incentive to keep that promise we made to ourself. Finally, consider one small change in each dimension of life- physical (such as eating/exercise), spiritual (such as prayer, church attendance, readings) and mental/emotional (such as meditation or relaxation disciplines, increased social connections etc.).

Whatever you choose, make sure you include a daily gratitude list. It may be the single most important discipline in your routine.

Have a blessed 2025!

Prayer: Lord we are grateful for another year of life, Amen

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, the 39^th President of the United States, died yesterday. He was a better man than he was a president, and he was not as bad a president as some might say. His famous Camp David Accords have ensured peace between Israel and Egypt to this day. Perhaps his devotion to human rights- a noble calling- was too idealistic for a President.

Yes, there were major problems in his term, mainly the Iran hostage crisis that doomed his presidency. It is clear that his life after his presidency was what he will be known for and acclaimed. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his international work in ensuring fair elections, and eliminating dreaded diseases in poor countries that some of the developed world seemed to ignore.  

He lived his life as a true example of his Christian witness. He tried to follow the example of Jesus by actively bringing the good news of health and healing to “the least of these”- those forgotten or marginalized by others.

It almost seemed that his one-term presidency was just the “warm-up” for his real work in the world. While others would say that being the President of the United States was the hallmark achievement of their life, I think Jimmy Carter would say that living out his God calling was the achievement of his life.

He was devoted to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn. That was a true love story unseen in these days. He humbly taught Sunday School in his little Plains, Georgia Church until he was physically unable to get to church.  

We mourn the passing of this man of character. He is now home, finally fully recognized for the good things he has done on this earth.

Rest in Peace, good man of character. We shall miss you.

We just packed off the family, who came from various cities for a Christmas visit. Even though a nasty 24-hour virus went through the family, we were blessed with a wonderful time together. Even illness cannot interfere with the love a family has for one another. So, the house seems a bit empty again as we ready for the start of another year. Yet, we count our blessings with gratitude for another Christmas together. We look forward to 2025 as an opportunity to see God’s hand at work, and to play our part in that as best we can.

In the coming blogs, I will be talking a little about resolutions. In the meantime, enjoy these last days of 2024, and be grateful for family, whatever your family may look like.

Family is precious.