Daily Grat: Wood Floors

Have I mentioned lately that Tom Karges is a home repair genius?

Tom is a church member who has been leading the repairs here at the parsonage, which have been ongoing for the past few months. You can see his new website here, where he showcases his own art and his work in home remodeling and repair.

Anyway, one of the things Tom was able to do is to save money on some repairs, still staying within budget, so that we could replace some carpets in the parsonage with wood floors.

Just before we left for Spring Break, we moved furniture and stuff out of three rooms, so that the floors could be put in while we were gone.

We returned to a house that smelled of paint, glue, was covered in a layer of wood dust, with three rooms of stuff still scattered everywhere.

But, the wood floors look GREAT....

Our genuine thanks to Tom, and to all the Trustees and the Leadership Council who are making all this possible.

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Daily Grat: Stars in the Water

It's only minutes into today, and I am already certain of my daily gratitude. I can't imagine this one will get eclipsed by anything else that can happen today.

This is our last night at the lake. Sometime tomorrow (er, later today) we'll head back to town.

Because it is our last night, I realized it was the last night to really get out and look up at the stars with the girls. The sliver of a moon set pretty early tonight. It's clear and cold...a few wisps of clouds. But the lake is like glass and except for a howling dog here and there, it's wonderfully quiet.

So, I knew that I needed to get the girls (Caroline and Maria) out to see the stars. But, of course, I didn't think of it until after they were in bed, hair wet from their showers.

I made them get up anyway.

This is either really good, or really bad, parenting; depending upon your point of view.

We bundled up and headed down to the dock to look up at the stars. As I said, it's wonderfully quiet right now, and the lake is *amazingly* still...like glass....like....well it's really not like anything else.

Anyway, we spent a lot of time looking up at the huge swath of stars across the sky. The two city girls were dutifully impressed (although Maria's seen our lake stars many times before...)

And then, just before we turned to go in, we looked down at that shimmering water again. And Maria said, "Look: you can see the stars in the water..."

And, sure enough, you could. Not nearly as many as in the sky, of course. But especially in the deep dark of the waters just off the dock --about the first 100 feet off shore-- you could definitely make out the unmistable twinkling of starlight.

And my immediate thought was: How have I never seen this before? Have I seen it and just forgotten? Surely I've been somewhere else, or more likely even here, and noticed this incredible sight...but maybe not...

Could it be that I've really lived almost five decades and only now noticed this?

Brought them back up to bed; and then immediately head back down to the dock, to sit on the bench and gaze up at the stars some more. Saw at least one impressive shooting star. Then, I looked back down at the stars in the water some more.

At different points in my life, it was very very common for me to do this same thing...to sit out in the middle of the night and look up at stars. When I lived in Mason, I'd drive three or four miles out of town (in any direction) and just lay down in the bed of my pickup and watch for an hour. I'd see *dozens* of falling stars each night....just by gazing carefully for that length of time.

Of course, the city ruins all of this. So deep is the jealousy of city lights that they vainly block the view of the real show. They know they can't compete; and so all they can do is destroy. And they that do exceedingly well.

So nights like tonight are a treat. I've come up from the dock now, but I'm still sitting on the porch, tapping this out on a laptop, soaking in every single last moment of stillness.

For a billion stars above...
For stars twinkling in the still dark waters...
And for the eyes to see them...
I am thankful.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Time Lapse Sunset

OK, I'm gonna declare that this is different from my "daily grat" of the other day.

My favorite time of day is thirty minutes before, and an hour after, sunset. Last night, I sat out on the dock and took pictures with my Treo. Then, I put them together in a time lapse movie, with my song "Walk With Me."

Anyway, hope you enjoy this movie, which is today's "Daily Grat."



(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Woody Guthrie's song "Jesus Christ"

As both a preacher and a songwriter, I'm embarrassed to admit I never heard Woody Guthrie's great song "Jesus Christ," until I watched the credits of Michael Moore's latest movie last night.

Well, better late than never, I suppose.

What struck me about it was how completely and totally consistent it is with much of my own theology, and with much of what we're talking about at Northaven during Lent.

Our theme at Northaven this year comes from a book by two of the most famous theologians in contemporary theology: Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. The book is called "The Last Week: A Day-by-Day Account of Jesus' Final Week in Jerusalem."

I strongly recommend the book to anyone who would like to get an honest assessment of what the realities were during Jesus' last week of life. The main points are that Jesus was killed by the Powers That Be of his day...by the Imperial authority of Rome. The form of his execution was a *Roman* form of excution, not a Jewish one.

Borg and Crossan suggest that Jesus' teachings --that the realm (kingdom) of God could be present in THIS world now, was deeply troubling to those Powers That Be.

Anyway, it's a fantastic book. And I hope you'll read it.

But what struck me last night was that Woody Guthrie's song is some seriously good Lenten theology that Borg and Crossan would certainly agree with:

Why did Jesus die in his day? (speaking up for the poor, against the rich)
Would Jesus die today? (Most likely, given that the rich still don't give up power very easily...)


So, without further delay, the lyrics of a *great* Woody Guthrie song:



Here's an interesting cover of the song by U2.

Here's on old interview with Bono talking about why U2 loves the song:


Jesus Christ
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

"Jesus Christ was a man who traveled through the land
A hard-working man and brave
He said to the rich, "Give your money to the poor,"
But they laid Jesus Christ in His grave

Jesus was a man, a carpenter by hand
His followers true and brave
One dirty little coward called Judas Iscariot
Has laid Jesus Christ in His Grave

He went to the preacher, He went to the sheriff
He told them all the same
"Sell all of your jewelry and give it to the poor,"
And they laid Jesus Christ in His grave.

When Jesus come to town, all the working folks around
Believed what he did say
But the bankers and the preachers, they nailed Him on the cross,
And they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.

And the people held their breath when they heard about his death
Everybody wondered why
It was the big landlord and the soldiers that they hired
To nail Jesus Christ in the sky

This song was written in New York City
Of rich man, preacher, and slave
If Jesus was to preach what He preached in Galilee,
They would lay poor Jesus in His grave."

Man, am I glad to have had this song find me. It's today's Daily Grat.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Dreams...lots of dreams.

Maybe it's that I'm getting great sleep. Maybe it's that I'm getting *enough* sleep. Maybe it's the Temperpedic bed here at the lake. Whatever's happening, I've been having some really amazing dreams the past few days. I won't go into all of them here. But sufficed to say, I like dreaming. And I like having lots of them to meditate on, and I try to listen to their messages.

So, for a few straight days of good dreams, I am thankful.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: The Fish City Dance

Tom says work at the house went well today. Good reports from our house sitter when she returned this evening too.

Meanwhile, here at the lake, things are good too. We went into Tyler, mainly to see the zoo, today. Big fun with that.

Then, for dinner, we found Tyler's branch of the muy delicioso "Fish City Grill;" much revered by Northaveners for the location right now the street at Preston Royal.

While there, I filmed what I knew at the time would be today's "Daily Grat."

Today, I am grateful for goofy girls doing the a Fish City dance:



(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Lakehouse Sunset

Lot's I could count as today's "daily grat." But I think I settle for this:

This was the scene on the porch just a while ago here, and it needs no further explanation, except "Thank You."

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Moore's Store and Ben Wheeler

I feel hopelessly behind in "Daily Grats." I've got a lot written, but not a lot actually put out here. I'll try to catch up as possible.

Mom and Dad were here at the lakehouse yesterday, because Dad had to be at a board meeting yesterday; so last night, we all went over the Moore's Store in Ben Wheeler for dinner and live music.

Moore's is a part of the little miracle going on in Ben Wheeler right now. Ben Wheeler the last small town you pass through on your way to our lakehouse. It's about 7 miles back down the road.

And for all of the years we've been coming out here, it's been the saddest part of the journey. Sad, because Ben Wheeler had all but gone out of business as a town. There were still half a dozen buildings lining both sides of the tiny Main Street. But everything had closed down years ago. Killed, from what I've heard, when Highway 64 was built just blocks away and simply bypassed the town. Quicky Marts opened up on the new highway, for those who actually wanted to stop, and overnight there was no more reason to stop in Ben Wheeler.

(btw: I bet you can find half a dozen towns on Highway 64 that *also* closed down once Interstate 20 was built. The big fish always eat the small ones...I'm not saying that's good...)

A few years back, we started to hear about some crazy guy who had bought the entire town and was hoping to revitalize it. Sounded a little crazy to me, but what do I know?

When we saw Tom Geddie for lunch last year during Spring Break, he told us how the plans were coming along, and it sounded like things were really going to happen.

Apparently, last Fall, things really started hopping. Moore's Store, an old general store, was refurbished into a really fine looking little music hall. I mean, it's awesome looking. Fantastic mural, depicting a scene from Ben Wheeler's past in the middle of *nice* stage...really great old wood floors and walls...it has the look of a classic old honky tonk...only a bit cleaner and family friendly. (I know, that sounds weird....it's just how it seemed to me...)

Nice burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc...and Moon Pies and RC Cola.



Now, for more of "It's really a small world, and I'm glad somebody paints it."

The guy who did the mural in Moore's Store is artist Brent Hale. He's the son of Al Hale. Al's an optician whose store has been at Preston Royal in Dallas for a gazillion years. (30? 40? 50?) This is, of course, right down the street from the church. I met Al coming out of Cantina Laredo with Gene Wisdom, the pastor of FUMC Garland about a year ago. Gene introduced us, and told me Al was one of his members.

Al's an incredibly gregarious guy, and told me to come by when I needed new glasses. I did. Somehow, we got on the subject of the lakehouse, and so he told me his son was doing the murals in Ben Wheeler.

Sure enough, last night I checked the signature, and it was Brent Hale. Here's a blog Brent kept of the how the Moore Store mural progressed.

And here's a picture of the huge RC Cola/Moon Pie mural across the street.

And here's a blog Brent kept about that. This last blog even has a nice news story, done by KLTV about Brent's work on the murals.

So, suddenly it feels like a very small world.

Tom Geddie suggests we check it out...
Al Hale tells me about his son...
And there we were last night, taking it all in.

Man, it's quite a scene with the band...last night it was the Danny Hollis Band. The house was packed to SRO, and folks were boot scooting to everything from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Elvis covers....little old couples in their seventies, dancing to SRV....only in Texas.

The guy who's made all this happen is named Brooks Gremmels. Gremmels has poured millions of his own money into the town, renovating buildings, and bringing back people with a series of outdoor festivals and, finally, real businesses where there were broken down buildings.

Here's a nice feature from KERA's "Art and Seek" about what Gremmels is doing there. Gremmels made a fortune in the oil/gas business, but also seems to be one of those guys who's had four or five lives before that...real estate...even motorcyle racer (He's apparently in the motorcycle racing hall of fame...)

He was there last night, and stopped by our table several times. Even remembered Maria and Caroline's names later in the evening, as he was busing tables and picking up empty beer cans. He seems to genuinely be enjoying this way that he's spending his fortune. As one of the online features I read on him said last night "You can do a lot of great things if you don't have to worry about making money."

He's doing a lot of great things in Ben Wheeler.

If you're anywhere around the area, definitely come by and check it out. It's fun to see. And Moore's Store and Ben Wheeler are today's "Daily Grat."

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Spring Break

It's Spring Break week, and even with all the crap having to do with our break-in, we're going ahead with our plans to be gone. We're headed to the lakehouse, and taking Maria's friend Caroline with us She also happens to be the daughter of friends I've known since we were about their age. It's becoming a small, small world.

We have a house sitter staying there each night, and Tom Kargas will be there each day supervising flooring and painting that's being done in three more rooms. And my folks are gonna check in on the dogs. So, we feel good about being gone, since the house will be well guarded.

So, for Spring Break, and for plans that happen at just the right time, I am thankful.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Here's Hoping Glenn Beck Learns More about His Own Faith...and Jesus Too

I wrote this blog two days ago, thanking Glenn Beck for raising the issue of social justice and the church. Beck is at it again today, pushing the social justice button, and saying even more things that those in the Church --especially those who espouse social justice-- are scratching their heads about.

In my good-natured blog from the other day, I attempted to make lemonade from lemons by suggesting that Beck had actually done a good thing by bringing up the issue, offering those of us who believe in social justice the chance to speak up about it.

But, as I said, he's at it again today. Here's what he said.

The gist of what he said today was that Christians are more than welcome to help the poor, the outcast, the sick, the lame, ON THEIR OWN. But we shouldn't assume that anything the government can, or cannot do, is related to this private and personal faith. He also suggested his own Mormon faith, collectively, has no part in "social justice."

Again, others will likely write far more eloquent rebuttals to him. But were I to write a rebuttal (So, I guess this is one...) I'd make the following points, trying to be as unambiguous as I can:

1) When Jesus tells the *only* parable in the entire New Testament about "Last Judgment," he very clearly says that those being judged are not just *individuals* but *nations.*

"When the Son of Man comes in all his glory, he shall gather all the NATIONS of the earth..."

Beck would have you ignore this, and pretend that the Gospel mandate *only* applies to individuals. All I can say is: Jesus says it doesn't. (more about this in point two)

2) Jesus says that everything belongs to God, even the stuff you believe belongs to the government (and even the stuff you think belongs to you). Through this, we may infer that the hard line Beck (and many others) draws between government work and the mission of the Gospel is artificial and certainly not based on the Gospel itself.

When Jesus tells the story about "rendering unto Caesar" he's answering a trick question (ie, a question from people who are trying to trick him...) It says so right in the story itself, right here. So, you know from the start that his answer will probably be carefully phrased and nuanced. (I know I am always careful in answering people who I sense are trying to trick me...)

Because, not only are there Pharisees in the crowd, but also folks called "Herodians," ie fans of the civil authority. You can read that part of the storyhere.

The significance is that he's now surrounded by two kinds of Jews with very different world views: On the one hand, Pharisees who are ultra-religious. On the other hand "Herodians" who are probably more secular and supportive of the civil authorities.

They start by buttering him up (btw: beware of those who butter you up...)

"Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality."
(Look out, Jesus! It's a trap!!!)

Then, they ask their question: Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor?

Jesus immediately knows it's a trap. If he gives a simple "Yes," the religious Jews will have a cow.

If he says, "No," the secular Jews might turn him over to the imperial authorities as a traitor.

So, what does he say?

"Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and render unto God what is God's."

It's brilliant, non-answer to the question. It's also, actually, a *perfect* answer...an answer that avoids the trap they think they've set for him on either side.

"Sure," Jesus says, "pay taxes to the Empire...support the government."

But! He also says: "Render unto God what is God's."

And what belongs to God?

Ah! Here's the rub: Pretty much *everything.*

As the Psalms say: "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it."

Jesus would have certainly believed this...that all we have, all we own, even everything that "belongs" to Caesar, is a gift of God.

Jesus *clearly* believes that in this story.

Therefore, Jesus believed that it was all "one-piece," one seamless garment of the riches God had blessed us with. Therefore: beware of prophets and teachers, like Beck, who try to tell you there is a "hard line" between the "secular" and the "sacred."

Jesus did not see thew world as bifurcated in this way.

Support the government, Jesus says, but know that when you do, it all really belongs to God.

And how to insure that what the government does is what God wants?

Work for justice, of course. Make sure that the priorities of the government are in line with the priorities of God...make sure that the resources of the government do the same.

That is why Jesus teaches us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven."

Jesus hopes that God's kingdom comes on EARTH. In THIS life. (Not, just in some other world...) THY kingdom come...HERE. NOW.

That one line of the Lord's Prayers should give us all pause, every time we pray it. Are we *really* working to insure that God's dream for humanity is really being fulfilled in THIS world? Or are we just giving out meager "charity" and trusting that God will "sort it all out" in the next world to come?

Dom Helder Camara died at the pinnacles of power of the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil. He was an Archbishop of the Church. He associated with the most powerful people in his own country. And yet, he also recognized how challenging the quest for social justice in THIS life is.

Don Helder Camara's most famous quote is this one line:

"When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why the poor were hungry, they called me a communist."
-- Dom Helder Camara

It's so true. People like Glenn Beck seem to be believe that the church's role is *personal* or *private.* But Jesus clearly believed in a kind of social justice where we not only give in *charity,* but also ask why the poor are poor...where we ask what we --the church, the government, individuals and corporations-- can *all* be doing to make life HERE better.

Thy Kingdom Come. Now.

I wrote much more on a Christian view of the role of the government, at least as I see it, in this blog on healthcare which I wrote months before the current debate began.

But since I know many of you won't read that, let me respost some of it below:

"...God tells me a society is judged not by how it treats its wealthy and powerful, but by how it treats the powerless and oppressed.

Even the most dictatorial and brutal regimes find a way to coddle their rich. But God says it's how we treat the poor...how we treat those on the margins...how we treat "the least of these" that will determine whether or not our society is great in God's eyes.

I was grateful to get the chance to sit in a Bible study with one of my mentors, Dr. John Holbert, earlier this week, in which he reminded me again how many passages deal with treating the "least among us" fairly.

In Jeremiah, chapter 7, God says this to the people:

"If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever."

You see, the people are judged most by how they treat the "least" among them...the aliens ("legal" or "illegal") the elderly...the orphan.

In fact, in other places, God makes it plain that not only are we to care for such persons, but we are to treat them as if they were a citizen among us. Way back in Exodus, God says this to the people:

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless."

Holbert reminded us that the beauty of this command is that the people are challenged to remember that "you were once aliens in Egypt."

Far from an attitude of "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps," God calls us to remember that all of us have benefited from the hard work of others. None of us are self-made. Our forefathers/mothers worked hard to help us get to where we are today. And for this, we are called to an attitude of grateful sharing.

We don't get to keep what we have, because all things belong to God, and are for the common good. In fact, if we have more it means we have a greater responsibility to share it with those who don't have enough.

This constant theme is repeated so often in the Bible I literally cannot list all the scripture references here. It continues in the New Testament too, where James says this:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Now, of course, in our world the issue of actual widows and actual orphans is not as challenging as it was long ago. But "widows and orphans, aliens and outsiders," exist in many forms.

And it is clear: the Bible assumes, Jesus assumes, that true religion means to love your neighbor as yourself...to treat no one as better or worse that you...and to pay special attention to those who are marginalized in society."

So, these were the thoughts I wrote months before the current healthcare debate began. And I think they apply broadly to a view of social justice espoused by not just me, but millions of Christians across the world, spanning dozens of denominations.
-----------------------------

Finally, this...

Glenn Beck is a Mormon. I am not.

I know that people have all sorts of views about Mormons, good and bad. I will not attempt to pass judgment on them. But I will note that this New York Times piece today suggests that Beck may be wrong about his own church. When Beck says "my faith doesn't" teach social justice, there are fellow Mormons who clearly disagree with him:

"Philip Barlow, the Arrington professor of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, said, “One way to read the Book of Mormon is that it’s a vast tract on social justice.”

“A lot of Latter-day Saints would think that Beck was asking them to leave their own church,” he said.

Mr. Barlow said that just this year, the church’s highest authority, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, issued a new “Handbook of Instructions” in which they revised the church’s “threefold mission” and added a fourth mission statement: Care for the poor."

So, far from moving *away* from social justice, it appears that the Mormon Church is moving *toward* it.

So, here's hoping Glenn Beck learns more about his own faith, and more about Jesus too.

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Gaily Grat: Maria The Scientist

Tonight, we spent some time at the Garland Special Events Center for a Regional Science Fair display. We were there because Maria, and her friends Britney and Peyton, won the Grand Prize at Prestonwood's Science Fair, advancing them to this regional event.

As you can see from the picture, their project was titled "What Solvent Removes Permanent Marker Ink The Best?"

Besides being something that is scientific, it's also something that's very practical too. I won't go into all their research, but they did work some looong hours over the past few months on this project.

I am very proud of all of them, but especially proud of, and thankful for, Maria the Scientist.



(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Charles D.

My daily grat for today will be Charles D, one of our Northaven members, who had surgery today. The surgery of a church member seems like a bizarre daily gratitude. But I think it will make sense in a moment.

See, we had something really crappy happen last night. We were broken into. Somewhere between midnight, when we went to bed, and 6:30, when I got up to go to Charles' surgery at Baylor, somebody threw a big rock through the window of our study/music room.

Several friends have asked me why/how we didn't hear anything. Basically, the house is "ranch style" and the rooms are as far apart from each other as you can get.

Anyway, it was a mess. And a big shock. And then we realized things were missing. Specifically, my laptop and my wallet. The really creepy thing is that it was highly unlikely that anyone could have done this *prior* to last night, because there was stuff blocking the windows.

But since we're having some work done in the rooms (new flooring...new paint...) I had moved almost everything off the desk earlier in the day. So, it was literally the first night that anybody could have smashed the window and grabbed the stuff. (The whole event was probably as quick as a "smash and grab" on your car...)

Most folks I've talked to today have been sorry that I lost the wallet. Actually, I could care less about that. What I'm really gonna miss is my laptop.

That thing had really become a part of my life. I used it for church. I used it for the band. I used it to record my own music.

This last one was the first thing thought of. I've recently multi-tracked four new songs and, yes, I failed to back up any of it. I do have *one* copy of the masters, as they stood last week. I guess that's all there is now.



What a loss....

So, I spent the day calling pawn shops, insurance companies, credit card companies, meeting a police detective (no fingerprints...), and the glass repair guy.

It was painful, frankly.

I did get by to see Charles in the early morning, before his heart surgery; but I didn't get back to the hospital until late in the afternoon, when he'd been transferred to a regular room.

Charles is in his early 80s. He's a fixture of our church, and an incredibly wonderful guy. He volunteers at church once a week to answer the phones, compiles our visitor reports and puts out the visitors books each week, and does a ton of other stuff that we rely on.

Every time you ask him "how's life?" he replies with "Better than the alternative...just happy to be here."

And you get the sense that he really means it.

His surgery yesterday lasted several hours, and I expected to find him a bit groggy from anestesia in the afternoon. Far from it, he was chipper and animated...glad to see me and glad the surgery was over.

I asked him how he was doing/feeling about everything, and he put it all in very clear and sharp perspective. He described how he had been nervous prior to the surgery, but that he had kept reminding himself of something somebody had told him years ago.

"A friend once told me," he said, "to always be grateful when your doctor says 'We can operate.'"

I thought about that for a while, and what a great attitude this is to have. Hearing that you "need surgery" is something we often take as bad news. But is it? Isn't it actually *good news* to know that, yes, you are in the care of medical professions and, yes, they think they can do something about it?

Isn't hearing "We can operate" always "better than the alternative?"

I thought about this conceptual shift all the way home, as I mulled over our break-in from the night before.

Yes, it sucks to get my computer ripped off. Yes, it's gonna be a pain to get everything in my wallet replaced and to gradually be reminded of the things lost off my computer.

But, yes, it's "better than the alternatives." We're OK. The window is repaired.

And I can always get more stuff.

Thanks to Charles, for the daily gratitude/reminder of how sometimes how we look at things makes all the difference.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Thank You, Glenn Beck

By now, almost everybody has heard Glenn Beck's comments last week, on radio and television, concerning the term "social justice" and its use in Christian churches. If you haven't, you can hear the audio here, and read a pretty good summary blog about it here.

Despite what everybody who knows me might believe, I want to publicly thank Glenn Beck for shining a bright light on the subject of "social justice."

As Beck correctly asserts, many churches *do* make the goal of achieving social justice a core part of their ministry and mission in the world.

But Beck has done a far greater public service than simply raising the issue. He's taken in a step further with the really marvelous suggestion that members ought to talk to to their church leaders about whether or not their churches are supportive of "social justice."

Beck seems to believe there is a foregone conclusion to such a discussion. As those who know both me and the church I serve as pastor might surmise, I have a very different view of the conclusion of such a discussion.

But I'm more than willing --thrilled, really-- to have anybody in my church who would like to come in and hear my views on social justice make an appointment. Just let me know. And I thank Glenn Beck in advance for the suggestion that our members might want to come and hear *my* views on social justice. (I *love* the idea of having them come and listen to me!)

Because I happen to believe that social justice stands at the heart of the Gospel of the Christian faith, and the core of what Jesus believed about the world.

We see it in the Hebrew scriptures:

"...And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

Justice, according to this passage, is one of a very few things that God really wants us to work for in the world.

Jesus was always telling parables about the need for justice for the weak, the poor, the outcast. In fact, the Bible is so chock full of passages about justice that some argue there's almost nothing left if you take those passages out.

Jim Wallis famously tells a story about this. I was going to cite a lot of scriptural "proofs" for social justice, but think Jim's story does an even better job of making the point:

"I was a seminary student in Chicago many years ago. We decided to try an experiment. We made a study of every single reference in the whole Bible to the poor, to God's love for the poor, to God being the deliverer of the oppressed. We found thousands of verses on the subject. The Bible is full of the poor.

In the Hebrew scriptures, for example, it is the second most prominent theme. The first is idolatry and the two are most often connected. In the New Testament, we find that one of every sixteen verses is about poor people; in the gospels, one of every ten; in Luke, one of every seven. We find the poor everywhere in the Bible.

One member of our group was a very zealous young seminary student and he thought he would try something just to see what might happen. He took an old Bible and a pair of scissors. He cut every single reference to the poor out of the Bible. It took him a very long time.

When he was through, the Bible was very different, because when he came to Amos and read the words, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream," he just cut it out. When he got to Isaiah and heard the prophet say, "Is not this the fast that I choose: to bring the homeless poor into your home, to break the yoke and let the oppressed go free?" he just cut it right out. All those Psalms that see God as a deliverer of the oppressed, they disappeared.

In the gospels, he came to Mary's wonderful song where she says, "The mighty will be put down from their thrones, the lowly exalted, the poor filled with good things and the rich sent empty away." Of course, you can guess what happened to that. In Matthew 25, the section about the least of these, that was gone. Luke 4, Jesus' very first sermon, what I call his Nazareth manifesto, where he said, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to poor people" -- that was gone, too. "Blessed are the poor," that was gone.

So much of the Bible was cut out; so much so that when he was through, that old Bible literally was in shreds. It wouldn't hold together. I held it in my hand and it was falling apart. It was a Bible full of holes. I would often take that Bible out with me to preach. I would hold it high in the air above American congregations and say, "Brothers and sister, this is the American Bible, full of holes from all we have cut out." We might as well have taken that pair of scissors and just cut out all that we have ignored for such a long time. In America the Bible that we read is full of holes."

Jim is absolutely right. Without social justice, the Bible, the foundation of our faith, is full of holes. Social justice is essential to the fabric of Christian faith.

Glenn Beck suggests that if you find out the "horrible" truth that your church supports social justice, that you should immediately find another church.

And I suppose you could try. But if you do, you'll likely be shocked to find out just how many churches speak about social justice. Take my own United Methodist Church, for example. On our UMC website, on the very first page of the section on our social principles, you'll find this statement:

"The United Methodist Church has a long history of concern for social justice."

Oops. So, I guess any and all United Methodist Churches are out. But then, so would be pretty much every other mainline denomination, all of whom prominently speak of a commitment to social justice being part and parcel of a truly faithful witness. Catholics are also big into social justice too. So, you'd have to leave their churches.

You might try evangelical churches, or independent megachurches; but you'll find that many of them are warming to the idea of social justice and social action. In fact, many of them are "repenting" of decades of ignoring the poor and marginalized and actively creating ministries of social justice. Megachurch pastors like Rick Warren have been forceful in their insistence that social justice is a part of Christian faith.

For example, in a recent an online biography of Warren, you'll find the following sentence:

"In recent years, Warren has become a prominent steward of social justice, speaking out on poverty relief and encouraging spiritual leaders to play a role in guiding the planet toward sustainability."

So, if you're trying to avoid churches that preach social justice, you'll need to avoid most mainline, most Catholic, and even many evangelical churches. I'm sure you might find a church somewhere. But I'd have no idea where to tell you to start.

But, as I said at the start, I'm thankful to Glenn Beck for raising the issue. Because we DO need for our churches to talk about social justice.

But! We need for churches to not just talk about it, or to feature it on their websites, but to ACT on it too....to become communities of faith where Jesus' love for the marginalized and the poor, the least and the lost, become real and incarnate in our world each day.

My friend and mentor, Rev. Bill McElvaney, has a new book called "Becoming a Justice-Seeking Congregation." I'm proud of the book because some of the stories and anecdotes come from the more than 50-year history of our very congregation, Northaven UMC in Dallas.

If you're interested in learning more about how your church might become more justice-seeking --if you need some material to discuss being justice-seeking with your pastor or layleaders-- it would be a great place to start.

And if, as Glenn Beck suggests, you are a member of Northaven and would like to hear more of my views on social justice, please feel free to call me and make an appointment.

I'd be more than happy to share them with you, and I thank Glenn Beck for making the suggestion.

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Daily Grat: Karen Blessen

Tonight, Northaven hosted graphic artist, Karen Blessen as a part of the Second Monday series. Karen is the only graphic artist to ever be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. But one of the things that distinguishes her art is how it is connected to her sense of spirituality.

She talked to the group about "passage meditation," a kind of meditation where one meditates deeply on a specific "passage" of scripture, literature, art, etc. The idea is to take it in, over the days or repetition, and to allow the passage to speak to you.

But the exercise she gave us that stayed with me had to do with writing with the opposite hand. I first read about this years ago, but it's been a while since I've given it any thought. The theory goes that when we write with our opposite hand, sometimes our usual censor and guard is drawn down, and we can receive creative messages that push our boundaries.

So, I've been doing some opposite-hand writing this week. Don't have anything yet to share with everybody, but it's a great exercise.

So, today I am grateful for Karen Blessen.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: New Member Dessert

Just got back from the New Member Dessert party for Northaven. It's always such a great event. About ten or so church leaders, and ten or so new members gather for a little dessert, and some conversation about the church.

I always love seeing the careful concern our church leaders show in describing the church, and all the many ways folks can get involved at Northaven.

But my favorite part is hearing our new members describe what the church means to them. Almost always, it involves stories of painful rejection elsewhere....somebody rejected by their parents, or by their former church...somebody who felt that their intellectual curiosity hadn't been respected elsewhere.

The good news is, they found Northaven. The bad news, it means horrible rejection elsewhere and memories that will likely never fade.

Everytime I go to one of these, I am deeply grateful that Northaven exists, and that so many people continue to find a spiritual home there.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: A Late Night at IHOP

Maria had a gymnastics meet in Corinth last night. Corinth used to be a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere. It was, arguably, the most rural part of the journey between Dallas and Denton. Now, it's really just a suburb of Denton. It also used to be the turnoff for Lake Sharon, which used to be the retreat center HPUMC used to own.

That's a whole lot of "used to be-s." But I suppose that's how the place feels to me...a strangely and vague reminder of a used-to-be part of life.

Anyway, the meet ran late. VERY late. We didn't get out of there until about 11:30. We decided to grab a midnight breakfast at IHOP, remembering that I'd seen one at the very intersection that used to be the sleepy turnoff for Lake Sharon. (Now, it's just a busy suburban strip mall...)

What could go wrong at the Corinth IHOP at midnight?

Turns out, the yearly ROTC dance. It was apparently a two-school dance and apparently every single couple who attended converged on that IHOP about two minutes after we came in the door.

The dining room went from us and three other tables, to packed to the rafters with a couple of hundred teenagers.

It was a little crazy. And yet, it was awesome too. A great late night moment with my girls.

And for this, even though we didn't get home until after one, I am thankful.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Another Great Show

We played at Frisco tonight. It was another *great* show. Crowd of something over 200, and an offering of more than 2,500.

We've got a nice rhythm to our set up and tear down. It takes lots of time and effort, but it's nice to see how everybody pulls together.

The next show, in Allen, is going to be a big one. Read about it here.

Tonight, I'm grateful again for the band.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: When EF Talks

Yesterday's blog entry was number 400 for "When EF Talks."

I started this blog mainly because it seemed like the thing to do. I wasn't working my way through a Julia Child's cookbook, tracking weight loss, or chronicling each moment of my family's life. I mainly just figured: "I like to write, blogs are popular, I should have one."

It seems to have been a good choice.

Also, back in those days, I was very active email lists...*very* active. Used to post obsessively. It dawned on me that not everybody on those lists wanted to read my every thought.

Not everybody *ever* wants to read my *every* thought.

But I'm grateful for this blog, so that I get the chance to express my views when I can.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: An Uncontested Election

I'm not sure how to write this entry without sounding overly proud. I get that perhaps nobody outside a candidate and her family can understand this "Daily Gratitude." But it's one that rings true inside our house today.

Dennise was uncontested in the Democratic Primary election yesterday. She got 100 percent of the votes cast. The cool thing is that even though she *was* uncontested, she got a significant number of votes....more than in some of the other uncontested races. Which is a humbling thing, really.

The even more amazing thing is this: Dennise is also uncontested in the general election too! That means, barring something almost inconceivable, she'll be elected to serve four more year, putting her at *ten* full years by the time this next term is finished.

Wow.

I get that many folks think uncontested elections are an anathema to democracy. So, as I just said, lots of folks won't appreciate my own personal feelings on this morning.

If you disagree, I'll just ask you to stop and consider that
a) These are *my* daily gratitudes...the things I am personally grateful for; and
b) I'm not really assuming you have to agree with me.

So, this morning, I am grateful for this one specific uncontested election.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Dennise chose to run in 2004, to fill the unexpired term of Judge Richard Johnson, who died suddenly while in office. In fact, she was the first declared candidate for the bench. She announced her intentions even before Governor Perry appointed someone to fill it temporarily.

She knew it was the right time to run. Even if she lost, she knew that, eventually Democrats would again begin to win elections in Dallas County. Mathematically, it was not a question of "if" it would happen, but "when."

Truth be told, that was an extremely hard campaign, personally. She was told, time and time again, that she had no chance of winning in Dallas County. People all but insinuated she was crazy for running. It was a very lonely way to run to have to run campaign. There were only seven Democrats running, county-wide. I think people in both parties sort of pitied them.

Then, she won. In fact, half the Democrats in that election won. It was amazing. We knew it *might* happen, but right up until the moment it did, it didn't seem real.

You might think that with this would come some degree of acceptance. And acceptance and generous welcome *did* come from many quarters. But there were still some who saw her election as some kind of fluke or mistake. These folks chalked up her election to some external reason:

-- People were sending a message to George Bush
-- People voted for her because she is a woman (so was her opponent)
-- People voted for her because of the name "Garcia."

Whatever. The point is, *some* folks (it should be said, by no means all or even a majority...) had excuses for why she had won and a Republican had lost. And so, for two years, she lived with a sense that *some* folks saw her election as an illegitimate mistake. These folks held their breath and treated her with arms length. (In some cases, they did more than that. But we're not going there today. Or ever, really.)

Again, nobody outside a very small circle of people can know what a chalenging time this was at the courthouse, and how stoically, calmly and non-defensively she reacted to things that were thrown at her. Trust me, I haven't told you *half* the story.

But I saw it. I saw how, every day she'd come home, as if she was having to prove herself all over again in ways other judges didn't have to. As if winning an actual election had not been enough.

No one can really understand how lonely this was.

Then, a short two years later, she had to run again. As an aside, let me say that I don't know how members of Congress (and their families) do it. How they defend their elected seat every two years borders on incredible. I now understand why *they* feel like they are in constant campaign mode.

Because that's really how it felt to us. Not even a year into being a judge, it was time to seriously start running again...this time against another opponent.

She won that election too, but now the meaning was far different for everybody. As you may remember, Democrats swept the 2006 elections, winning just about every county-wide race. Instead of half of seven candidates winning, it was all of more than forty!

You can't imagine what vindication this felt like. Dennise *hadn't* been crazy to run as a Democrat. In fact, in the minds of some, overnight she went from crazy to genius.

She won by the widest margin of any countywide race in more than ten years (for a judge of either party....Republican or Democrat...). And she won a full term.

We could, for a while, breathe.

It's four years later, now. If I do say so myself, Dennise is very highly regarded as a judge. I'm completely biased, of course. But she did get among the highest "Bar Poll" ratings of any judge, and the Dallas Observer named her in their "Best Of" issue.  Consistently, total strangers come up to me to say what a great job she's doing, how fair she is, and what a fantastic courtroom demeanor she has. They don't have to do that. (I have a bad enough memory that I never remember their names, so they don't get anything from it, personally)

I believe they do it because it's true, and because they are grateful for her service.

The filing deadline for the 2010 election was January 4th. And, as I said above, nobody else filed on the Republican or Democratic side for the 303rd District Court race.

That night, as we gathered at the filing night party, the truth was just sinking in. Not only had Dennise not drawn an opponent in the primary, but she hadn't drawn one in the general election either.

It was a feeling beyond belief.

It was not a feeling of elation or triumphalism, really. It was more a feeling that this was uncharted territory. How does one react to such news?

I mean, she's gone from being considered a quixotic outsider; to being a clear and decisive winner; to being considered one of the best judges around; to being uncontested.

Good Lord. What a journey.

I can tell you this: she doesn't take it for granted. She knows it's an amazing, and somewhat rarified, position to be in. She knows that it doesn't mean *every* election will be so. And, she knows that now is the time to guard against excessive overconfidence.

It's not a coronation; but it is a quirk of our democracy.

She's watching out for "judgeitis," (a terminal condition wherein judges come to feel they *deserve* their positions); while also trying to accept the affirmation that this really is.

It's a lot to take in. And, as always, I am so incredibly proud of what she has accomplished.

So, in ways that perhaps other people can never understand fully (nor do I expect them to) I am grateful for uncontested elections. Or, at least during this season of life, I am grateful for THIS one.
And on the morning after the election, it's a very deep and very real, daily gratitude.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: The Chance to Cast My Vote

Today is election day. If you have yet to vote here in Texas, I certainly hope you will. Yes, it's "just" a primary election. But *all* elections are important. And the reality of primaries are that, with turnout *far* less than in general elections, your own influence is arguably far greater.

I wrote this a few years back about elections. It's worth considering again today.

We've gotten far more involved in politics than I ever imagined we'd be, during these past few years. I've met many many candidates and/or public officials in Dallas County and beyond. It takes a lot of energy, emotion, and will to put yourself out there and run for *any* public office...I mean *any.*

It is challenging to your family life. There are hours and hours of work, going to meetings that don't seem to matter sometimes.

But it is our process. And, as Churchill said, it's still better than all the alternatives.


For a nation of laws...for the ability to cast my vote...I am thankful.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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Daily Grat: Songwriter Group

For once, I got to go to the songwriter group at Tom and Cary's house. They meet each week, either there or in Oak Cliff at Bruce and Lisa's house. But I almost *never* get to go. Last Fall, I repeatedly wanted to, but had conflicts almost every Monday...band rehearsal...meetings at church. I was literally only free for two Mondays, and both of them I was exhausted that I just couldn't get up the energy.

But I had the new song to play, and a free night, so I went. A small group, but mighty nice to be among songwriter friends.

And for this, I am thankful.

(During this year, my goal is to find something new to be thankful for every single day, and to add that thanksgiving as a blog entry, under the title "My Daily Gratitude." I started this kick back around Thanksgiving, and it's already resulted in a favorite new song of mine. The goal of this ongoing spiritual exercise is to see if doing such a thing might inspire even more gratitude within me, and to foster general awareness of life on a deeper level.)

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A New Song: I Wish You Could Cry

A new song I wrote over the past couple of weeks.

Hope you like it. Lyrics below...



I Wish You Could Cry

What if I could promise you
A net that you could not fall through
That always holds?

Or what if all I offered you
Were arms that let you fall into
A tender fold?

I wish you could cry
I wish you could cry
I can read your face's tell
I know it all too well

I see the signs
So many signs
I wish you'd let me hold you
And I wish you could cry.

You say your deepest fear
Is the deep river of your tears
Will somehow never end

But trusting in that flow
Is how we finally let it go
And how our hearts can mend.

I wish you could cry
I wish you could cry
I can read your face's tell
I know it all too well

I see the signs
So many signs
I wish you'd let me hold you
And I wish you could cry.
Copyright, Eric Folkerth. ©2010.
All Rights Reserved.

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