…God blessed them:
  “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
    for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”                                                    Genesis 1:28 (The Message)

Yes, you read that right- talk to your plants. This idea has been around for quite a while, and I think it might be a good idea, but maybe not for the reasons you think. In the past, people have claimed that the plants grow better when someone talks to them. Actually, the reasons that plants who are “spoken to” thrive is because they have attentive owners. Those plant owners will more likely water regularly, prune as needed, feed them, and make sure proper sunlight is available. The plants are not sentient, and they cannot “understand” what you are saying. They do, however, prosper from the Carbon Dioxide that you are breathing on them while you chat.

There is also another reason to talk to the plants. It is good for you. When you get in touch with any of God’s creation to the point of interaction, you are doing your soul some good. Further, when we talk to the plants, we are getting in touch with ourselves. We are actually searching ourselves and giving some vent to thoughts and ideas- even evoking kindness and caring- which are all good for us.

So, if you feel like it, talk to those plants. Sure, you might want to wait until you are alone so one else can misconstrue the situation, but go ahead- it might be good for you and your plants.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us the joy of tending to your creation, and we are grateful, Amen

I often have occasion to talk with clients about locus of control. That is, “what are the things I can control, and what are those things I cannot.” There are times that we feel things are out of our control, even though they really are in our control. Conversely, there are times we feel that we can control certain things (like other people’s attitudes and behaviors), that we cannot.   

I recently spoke with a client who said that she knows she needs to address her marijuana use, but said that she is not ready now. She seemed to suggest that there would be circumstances that would arise later that would help her to make that decision. Things like that she would eventually grow weary of using, or her supplier would stop being there, or that she would feel more inclined to quit at a later time.

I pointed out that these were simply ways of putting off something that was currently under her control- a decision to stop. If she waited too long, she might lose that level of control. For example, her employer may fire her, and the decision she could have made earlier now carries an additional huge burden -unemployment. Indeed, paradoxically, that could be a trigger to use more!

As I have said in the past, anything that we put off, we pay back with interest. Bills, decisions, health issues- all those things cost more when we put off the uncomfortable present for the possibly devastating future.

Today is the day for the hard decisions we have been postponing. We might have to pay later with costly interest.

Prayer: Today is the day God have given us to make healthy choices, Amen

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.      Luke 15:1-2

This verse struck me when I was reading it the other day. It seems that the tax collectors and sinners were interested in what Jesus had to say. Interesting that the Pharisees were there too, but only as critics, not followers.

Those who were outcasts, judged by others, found comfort in hearing the words of Jesus. They seemed to know that Jesus was not interested in casting them away. They had heard the stories of his acceptance, healing, and words of comfort and reconciliation. After all, what is it that sinners and tax collectors had in common? They were outcasts, hated and judged by the community. They needed acceptance and forgiveness.

There is an old saying, “People need love the most when they are the least lovable.”  We need acceptance and forgiveness at exactly the times we are least lovable. Following Jesus sounds like a place of comfort in a difficult time.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the love and acceptance you extend through your son, Amen

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.                                                                                                                                     Galatians 3:28

Hellenism– A way to understand the world through the use of human reason and intellect

Hebraism – A way to understand the world through that which we cannot explain- mysticism

Each of these viewpoints can take the same phenomenon and explain its cause in a different way.

The great poet, professor, and cultural critic Matthew Arnold wrote an essay titled Hellenism vs. Hebraism in his book Culture and Anarchy (1869). I remember reading the essay in college, and it struck me as an intriguing way to see the world. I suppose my professor would be pleased that one of his assignments stuck with me for over 50 years!  

Arnold explained that there are two world views which dominate our understanding of the world. While this model is somewhat simplistic, I think it helps us to see how our thinking is shaped. The Hellenistic view was inspired by the civilizing Greek culture of antiquity. They emphasized a way to understand the world through the lens of human reason and intellect.

The Hebraic world view allowed for a more mystical way to understand the world- that not all phenomena can be explained simply through reason and logic. Of course, the Hebraic view was that of a Jewish culture that was heavily reliant on a spiritual understanding of life. God was the spirit that animated the world, and that is how we can understand things, even if those things are not explainable through empirical explanation.

Of course, both views have merit, and both need one another to have a fuller understanding of the world. There is a need, especially these days, to embrace world views that are not typically how we may see things. Depending upon where one stands, and the lenses through which we see things, we may have only a partial understanding of a situation. Embracing the possibility of another viewpoint is critical to deeper understanding.

Science alone cannot explain the world. Theology alone cannot explain natural phenomena. Together, we begin to see a more complete picture.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us resources to better understand the world and the Creation you formed, Amen

He set the earth on its foundations, it can never be moved…               Psalm 104:5

In thinking of the marvel of creation, I am just amazed at what can and has been learned by scientists over the years. We have begun to probe the inner workings of the atom, and we find new particles seemingly every year. The CERN Collider in Switzerland keeps providing new information about matter, anti-matter, dark matter- yeah, who knew, right?

All this to say that the Psalmists knew to praise the Creator, without knowing the full content of what they were praising. His Creation is remarkable, and we are still figuring things out. There is so much that we do not see, yet we know that God is to be praised for it, even as we are largely in the dark yet about how the Universe works.

So, we accept the things that we do not yet understand. That is the essence of faith.

Prayer: Lord, what a Creation you have brought about! Amen

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day            Genesis 32.24

We are called to live in radical love with a broken world. We are called to love others who do not show that same love to us. We are called to speak truth to power at times when that may not be understood. So yes, we are called to wrestle.

What is the alternative? To avoid the suffering of others? To simply live in our own safe spaces? Indeed, many people in the world do not have such safe spaces. We are called to be living out a love for people in ways that we have been uniquely equipped by the Creator.

So, my friends, what is the wrestling that you need to do?

Prayer: Lord, how would you be calling us to wrestle with you today? Amen

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Seasons change. It is inevitable, and it has a beautiful rhythm. As I write this, I am smiling, because a couple of seasons clashed for me today. The weather was pretty warm- in the 60’s for most of the day. So, I ended up cleaning and storing the lawn mower, after having cut the grass yesterday. I also cleaned up some final yard waste and put it out for pick up.

The next thing I did was not seasonable- I put up the outdoor Christmas lights. The weather was perfect for it, even if I am rushing the season. No, I won’t turn them on until Thanksgiving (maybe, the jury is still out on that).

Seasons change, but sometimes they overlap. In the Northern Hemisphere, where I live, and in a northern state (Ohio), seasons can get a bit confused at times, and today I took advantage of that. The bottom line? I found myself being so grateful for the change of seasons we encounter, each of which bring its own special joys.

Today though, they overlapped, and it was quite enjoyable!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the changing, and unchanging, rhythms of life, Amen  

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it crushes the spirit                                     Proverbs 15:4

So, if you have read the title of today’s blog, you have also learned the business plan of social media tech companies. The plan is to addict people to their screens, often their smartphone. This is accomplished by adjusting sophisticated algorithms, planning randomized alerts and notifications, mixing in entertainment and factoids, and gradually putting readers into silos of information. Often this information is misinformation. It also includes lots of unvetted opinions by people who have no expertise in the subject upon which they opine.

Some of the results of this are less critical thinking, less intensive and directed reading of books and articles to gain information, and more emotional responses to issues rather than cognitive and logical responses. It also ramps up emotions like anger, and prompts many people to write things that they later regret. Oh, and by the way, those comments are FOREVER out in the world.

In case you haven’t guessed, I am pretty critical of the social media trends of the past decade or so. Am I a victim of this also. Yes, yes I am.  When I see that weekly notice on Sunday morning at 9AM on my phone about screen time usage of the past week, I often cringe. 

Social media can, of course be used for good. People can connect in healthy ways with one another, extended families can keep in touch, old friendships renewed, and many other possible positive things can be accomplished.

Just be aware of that business plan that drives social media. Keep it in mind, and try to carve out some of your screen time into reading a variety of those beloved old items of the past- books!

Prayer: Lord, you give us many gifts in many ways, including technology. Give us the wisdom to use it well, Amen

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.                                                                                        Matthew 16:24-25

“You can’t keep it unless you give it away…”

(Common paraphrase of the 12^th Step of Alcoholics Anonymous)

I recently spoke with a client who has a host of significant health problems. In fact, some of these chronic conditions, taken together, are considered to be terminal. She struggles with some basic things like nutrition, breathing capacity, chronic recurrent infections, etc., yet she has decided to live. And not just to live, but to live in a missional way.

She and her husband have undertaken a personal mission to care for the homeless people in their community. Especially when the recent government shutdown put those homeless persons in peril, this woman decided that she could not let them suffer. She went to parks and places where homeless persons gathered, and she brought food, and blankets- and hope.

She shared with me through tears how God has changed the life of she and her husband. She gave testimony of how some of the people she cares for have ministered to her as well. Now, she has engaged her church family and at least one other church to mobilize efforts to help her mission.

This principle she is living is paradoxical to those who do not understand the mission that Jesus set before us. By giving herself away, despite her own incredible needs, she has given life and spirit to others. In so doing, she has found renewed life herself. She is not preoccupied with her own suffering, but meets the needs of others. In so doing, she has found healing of a different type.  

This testimony reminds me of a story Phillip Yancey told in his book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. He told of a group of discouraged and displaced men right after World War II in France who aimlessly roamedthe countryside, scavenging a living. They were hopeless and angry at their fate. When a local priest challenged them to find others who were worse off than they, and to help those people, their lives too could change.

Those men decided to band together and help the children displaced by war. Eventually, their efforts led to an organization that endured for generations- one which had a mission to help children.

When we redeem our pain, we can turn it into gain for others. In so doing, we help ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, help us to redeem our pain into gain for others, Amen

For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self- control            II Timothy 1:7

I was talking with two different clients the other day about self-esteem and the real source of it. I told them that self-esteem comes much more from about how we feel about ourselves rather than what others may think of us. Whether or not we get rewards, affirmation, or recognition from outside, our own personal gauge is more important. We ourselves know whether we can trust ourselves or not. That is the true acid test of self-esteem. Can I keep promises that I have made to myself? If so, even in the littlest things, over time, those little things add up to true confidence in our own integrity and disciplines.  

In that sense, no one can rob us of our esteem by their attitudes and actions toward us. Do we care about what others think of us? Yes, of course we do, but that is not the real basis for our own sense of worth and dignity. God loves us right where we are, but often, we do not love ourselves very well based upon or lack of self-trust.

Daily consistency and confidence in our ability to follow through are the ingredients for good self-esteem.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the little reminders that we are loved by you, Amen