Food for Thought!

 

Once upon a time, in the time before huge crowds were riddled with plague infested people (that’s a joke), I enjoyed going out to the occasional restaurant with my family.  I especially liked it when my children were ACTUALLY children because it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg.  During those days, I was known to visit a buffet from time to time.  Who doesn’t like a buffet?

I love a good buffet!  What can be better than aisles of steaming hot food waiting for mass human consumption?  Besides gluttony there’s the risk people contaminating the food but that’s what the sneeze guard is for, right?

The worst thing that could happen at a buffet, besides an unwanted stomach ailment, is when they run out of food!  I have seen people LOSE IT when a buffet style restaurant does not have the dish they came for!  It becomes all the more insane when the already irate patron is told their favourite food item is not about to be replenished!  Yikes!!!

While I have never been one of those irate customers, I have stood at the back of many church potluck queues and wondered if there would be any food left by the time I made it to the serving area.  Imagine, if you will, a (pre-Covid) crowd of five thousand people gathered on the lawn to eat and the only food available was fives loaves of bread and two fish.  

He said to them, “How much bread do you have? Take a look.”

After checking, they said, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.”

He directed the disciples to seat all the people in groups as though they were having a banquet on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke the loaves into pieces, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. Everyone ate until they were full.    (Mark 6:38-42, Common English Bible).

I am almost certain there were people in the crowd, after hearing about what this entire banquet consisted of, thought there was no way they were eating that day!  I am not even talking about the last person.  If I were the eighth person in line simple math would say I’m not getting anything YET they all sat down and waited.  I’ve waited at restaurants for 30 minutes, and more, for my food to arrive, I cannot imagine what it would have been like to wait for 12 people to bring around the food, or how long it took, but they waited. Their patience paid off because all had more than enough to eat.  Verse 43 says there was even twelve baskets of leftovers!

There have been times that I have felt like the good things happening to others would never come my way.  I’m sure we all have felt that way occasionally.  We can grow frustrated with the lack of movement in our lives.  I want to encourage you to keep waiting.  Don’t lose hope.  Your time is coming!

The crowd gathered around Jesus and received all they needed; all they had to do was sit and wait.  It’s not always easy to wait.  It can be frustrating. It can be painful but I believe if we are about to receive something that we need (not want), then waiting doesn’t have to be all that bad!

A Story Worth Telling

 "We're all stories in the end, just make it a good one eh?" - 11th Doctor - Doctor Who

Over the past 20+ years of being a pastor, I have often said I prefer funerals to weddings.  It's not because I have some morbid fascination with death.  From an officiant's standpoint, I find funerals give me more of an opportunity to be relatable and available to the needs of the family than weddings. I enjoy being their for couples as they exchange their vows but funerals allow me to open myself more, if that makes sense.

One of my favourite things about funerals, more so than weddings, are the stories people will share.  I have been asked to officiate funerals of people I never knew, or hardly knew, where I have left feeling liked I missed out on knowing a truly great person just by the stories shared by loved ones.  That's not to say heartfelt stories are not found a weddings, but those are often found during the reception during an already joyous time.  

I have been a part of two funerals, or celebrations of life, over the last few days.  Each person was deeply missed by the friends and family.  I never really knew either person but the stories that were shared at both events gave me, a complete outsider in both cases, a better perspective of who they were.  While they had passed from this mortal coil, the stories of their lives will live on in the hearts and memories of all gathered (myself included).

I have made it a goal, as a parent, to share with my children my story, just like Mom and Dad did for Pam and I.  I must be doing my job right because there have been times around the dinner table (we still eat as a family) where Caleb or Meagan have asked for a story about my childhood.  

Over the last several months, as I have researched more of my family background, I have found different things out about my ancestors that I have never known before.  For example, I have a Sheriff of Nottingham as a multiple times great grandfather.  I also have a traitor in my lineage.  You never know where you truly come from but it sure is fun finding out.

At the end of life, our stories will be encapsulated by the little dash on our tombstone that separates the days of our births and passings.  When my time comes, I hope the people that gather will share the stories of my life, be it how I convinced two cousins blueberries growing under powerlines were poisonous, or how Melissa and I held hands just a little too long after a handshake many years ago.  

I hope my life has been a story that has made an difference in people's lives.  I think we should all feel that way.

Let's live our lives in a way that says our story is worth telling!

10 Things I Think I Think!

 "Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” — Winnie the Pooh

     I'm not really the type of guy likes to rock the boat, especially when it comes to things I post on my social media.  That's not to say I haven't made some posts that have raised the ire of some friends and family.  I've even been unfriended by a few family members in the past because of certain questions I raised.  

      In recent years, I have made a conscious effort to keep many of my comments on "hot button issues" offline.  Why?  The main reason is I truly believe very few people, if any, are swayed by the pontifications of a social media post with an opinion differing from their own.  Other reasons include why I refrain are:

• I like people too much to give them any reason to dislike me (or dislike me more).
• I don't want to post something that could harm my reputation, or the reputation of others.
• Nobody really cares what I think (this blog isn't catching fire, is it?)!
• I don't want to be excluded from any future post-pandemic family reunions.
• I REALLY like it when people give me gifts at Christmas and on my birthday.  Why would I want to jeopardize that?

     I hope you gathered from the last two points that I WON'T be writing a serious blog.  While I would like to "let loose" on a few things that have been bothering me, I won't...not here.  What I will do is give you ten things that I have thought about and feel that I am "safe" in sharing.  Without further ado (adieu?) here are "10 Things I Think I Think!"

1. Why do we call it a "red" onion when it's CLEARY purple?  Is it a conspiracy perpetrated by the Onion and Leeks Growers Association (OLGA, if you will)?  Does red sell better than purple?
2. I'm near the end of my cell phone term and I'm debating between an Android or an iPhone.  I have a Huawei now but I won't be making that mistake again!
3. We all need "Happy Songs" to brighten our days.  Mine are "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond and "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton: The Musical!
4. I've been really enjoying the podcast "The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill" produced my Christianity Today.  
5. For the wrestling fans I think "Hangman" Adam Page is a boring champion.  
6. If you travel to Fredericton DO NOT STAY in room #410 at the Best Western!  It has the WORST mattress I've ever slept on.  I thought it was trying to swallow me whole!
7. Celery is an underrated vegetable.  Who cares if it has no nutritional value or little taste? 
8. The invasion of Ukraine by Russians forces is scary to me.  Putin is pushing his weight around while the rest of the world watches.  I'm not sure what the West can do but something needs to be done!
9. The music of the late 80's and early 90's will always be THE BEST MUSIC!
10. After two years I'm beginning to forget what your chin looks like!

Additional Thought:

 - If you'll listen to Bob Barker and Drew Carey telling you to get your pets spayed or neutered then consider donating your organs after your gone (or even the ones you can live without while you're alive)!  Why not lose them when you're no longer using them?

     

     

Don't Give Up!

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. - 2 Chronicles 15:7  

 I recently watched a small clip about the Celine Dion recording sessions for the song "All By Myself."  David Foster, the record producer on the album "Falling Into You," talked about how he wanted to stretch Dion's vocal abilities during this song.  His assignment for her was to hit an incredibly high note and hold it for as long as possible.  If she could do this he believed it would be an instant classic.  

     When the day of recording came, Celine Dion aced the assignment.  If you are familiar with the song you already know the part I'm talking about.  There's a build that takes place near 2:38 mark in the song where the song goes from a piano solo to Dion's soft voice singing about "living alone."  The crescendo builds into the climax of the song as she belts out the word "anymore!"  

     David Foster KNEW she could do it BUT didn't see her doing it in one take!  David Foster made her do it seven more times just to drive the point home!  It wasn't because he didn't believe in her.  He made her do it seven more time so SHE knew what she was capable of.

      One of my favourite places to run (when I'm not shaped like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man) is at the Irving Nature Park on the west side of Saint John, NB.  The main road through the park is marked off with distance markers.  I believe the road is 6.7 km long but I have never ran the whole way around, but I do use the markers to challenge myself.  I'll push myself to go farther than each previous run.

     I wanted to skip this week's blog, truth be told.  I wrestled with WHAT to write about.  I wrestled with the notion of fewer people reading than at the beginning.  I even considered tossing it aside like I have with so many other things.  Sometimes it's easier to give than to fight through.  Maybe you have felt that way as well?  Let me encourage you to keep fighting!  In fact, let's fight together!

     This blog is my way to fight through my own insecurities.  Maybe your battle is different? I don't know but let's encourage each other to keep going, shall we?  Let's encourage each other! Let's continue to push through and hit those amazing high notes!  Together we can rise to the task and blow all the doubters, including ourselves, out of the water!

FYI - I WAS listening to "All By Myself" as I wrote this blog...  You're welcome for the earworm!