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Into the Fire

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Into the Fire –

I heard a story yesterday about a Roman soldier who fell in love with a young, Christian, woman at the height of Rome’s imperial glory. He wanted to marry her but she would not allow him to court her because he wasn’t a follower of Christ. Desperate, the young man began to follow her and eventually discovered where she met other Christians in a secret place outside of Rome. He stayed in the shadows, watched and listened as they sat around a small fire and shared their stories of being followers of Jesus. As he stood there his heart was awakened and a voice echoed inside of him; “You will never know the truth until you step into the light of the fire and have all that is not burned to ash.” This was a great challenge indeed for most Romans believed in many gods, not just one, and followers of Christ were persecuted, and executed for their beliefs. He would have to give up everything for the chance at eternal and temporal love.

As I’ve reflected on this story the last two days I’ve wondered about the power and sacrifice of love. Love is a double-edged sword. It is wonderful and terrifying. Many horrible acts have been done in the name of love. It gives the bearer great courage but can also make one a coward. Those who have loved deeply speak of the joy and sorrow, wholeness and heartbreak, feeling of ecstasy and indescribable pain. True love requires all of us. We can’t give only a portion. We must be all in or never experience the life-changing, mind-bending, chaos that is love. It gives and takes, makes and destroys, assures us and shakes us to our core. There is nothing else that can compare.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: #allofus, #ash, #assures, #awakened, #beallin, #bearer, #blessings, #burned, #challenge, #chance, #chaos, #courage, #court, #coward, #desperate, #discovered, #double-edgedsword, #echoed, #ecstasy, #eternal, #executed, #fellinlove, #fire, #followerofChrist, #givesandtakes, #giveupeverything, #heart, #heartbreak, #horribleacts, #indescribable, #inside, #IntotheFire, #joy, #life-changing, #listened, #loveddeeply, #makesanddestroys, #marry, #mind-bending, #nameoflove, #neverexperience, #pain, #persecuted, #power, #reflected, #requires, #sacrifice, #shakes, #soldier, #sorrow, #stayedintheshadows, #stepintothelight, #story, #temporal, #terrifying, #thewannabesaint.com, #toourcore, #truelove, #truth, #watched, #wholeness, #wondered, #wonderful, @BrianLoging, love, Roman

Digging Around

Jun 20

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for messy car seats

Digging Around –

This week I had to take three days of classes to qualify as a Certified car seat Technician. Part of the assessments required the students to install, uninstall, spot problems with seats installed by others and know which need to be replaced. It was three long days full of information and statistics.

One of the difficult tasks is sticking your fingers in places you can’t see when you’re searching for tethers, anchors and seat belt clips jammed in between the seats. Not every car is as clean as one would like and you never know what you might find when you’re digging around.

Last week, during therapy, my “talk doctor” told me we’d begin digging deeper in the coming months. We had reached a plateau and now it was time to turn over some fresh dirt. I agreed with her that it was time and needed. I’m not necessarily looking forward to the mental, emotional and spiritual energy required but I also know if you don’t look closer, feel around, poke harder, dig deeper there’s a chance you won’t find what you’re looking for.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #begindigging, #between, #blessings, #carseat, #Certified, #chance, #clean, #deeper, #difficult, #Digdeeper, #diggingaround, #emotional, #feelaround, #findwhatyourelookingfor, #fingers, #lookcloser, #lookingforward, #mental, #mightfind, #necessarily, #needed, #neverknow, #plateau, #qualify, #reached, #replaced, #required, #searching, #spotproblems, #sticking, #tasks, #Technician, #therapy, #thewannabesaint.com, #turnover, . #assessments, @BrianLoging, Energy, pokeharder, Spiritual

Balancing Act

May 24

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Balancing Act –

There is an area in our yard next to the road that is tricky to mow. It is a sharp incline and in order to the get the job done the mower and the rider has to be at a steep angle. When I mow this particular spot in the yard I sit halfway on the seat with my body leaning in the opposite direction of the incline. The balance has to be perfect. Too far off the seat the mower doesn’t sense enough pressure on the seat and shuts off. Don’t lean far enough and there’s a chance the mower and rider could topple over. It’s a twenty-five yard long, difficult and dangerous, balancing act.

Life is also a balancing act. We live in perilous times. All one has to do is turn on the television, log online, and get the sense our families, communities, nations, and world is one mistake from toppling over into a dangerous place and we may not recover.

The problem is balance. Sides are chosen, political parties picked, litmus tests are given, judgments made and those on the other side, even ones seeking a middle way, are labeled as; “the enemy.” I don’t know if we are going to make it back from the edge of disaster but I do know it takes more strength to listen than to ignore, to understand than to shout down, to accept than to reject, to see others as us than ‘less than,’ to find balance than to demand conformity.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Contemplative

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Tags: ##opposite, #accept, #act, #angle, #area, #balance, #Balancing, #blessings, #chance, #chosen, #communities, #conformity, #dangerous, #dangerousplace, #demand, #difficult, #direction, #disaster, #edge, #enemy, #families, #findbalance, #ignore, #judgments, #labeled, #leaning, #lessthan, #life, #litmustests, #middleway, #mistake, #nation's, #otherside, #particular, #parties, #perfect, #perilous, #political, #pressure, #problem, #reject, #road, #seeking, #sense, #sharpincline, #shoutdown, #sides, #steep, #strength, #thewannabesaint.com, #times, #topple, #toppling, #tricky, #understand, @BrianLoging, Listen, World

Stuck Behind

Apr 18

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for back of fedex truck

Stuck Behind –

This morning, on my way to a community group for dads, I turned left on a road and ended up stuck behind a FedEx truck. He was going slow and I couldn’t tell if it was him or if there was a slow-poke in front of him. I don’t like being behind large semi-trucks, vans with no windows or box trucks because you can’t see what’s ahead. We were on a two-lane road with no place to pass and no way of knowing how many vehicles I’d have to get in front of if I tried passing. I was stuck. The FedEx truck was intermittently breaking taking me by surprise and frustrating me. So, I took a breath and let off the gas and gave the obstacle in my way, blocking my view, more room. We finally made it to a four-lane road and I passed him noting there were a few cars in front of him that he had been stuck behind.

It was a good reminder that at times, in certain seasons, we can’t make the progress we’d like to make. For whatever reason we are stuck and the way forward is hidden from view. We try to fight it, force it, make it work the way we want it to but this only keeps us frustrated. Allowing for slowness, even stillness gives us a chance to catch our breath and trust that when its time the way forward will come into view.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #allowing, #behind, #beingbehind, #blessings, #blocking, #breaking, #catch, #certain, #chance, #endedup, #fight, #force, #forward, #front, #frustrated, #frustrating, #goingslow, #goodreminder, #hidden, #intermittently, #knowing, #obstacle, #pass, #progress, #reason, #reminder, #seasons, #seewhatsahead, #slow, #slow-poke, #slowness, #stuck, #StuckBehind, #surprise, #thewannabesaint.com, #triedpassing, #trust, #view, #way, #wayforward, #waywewantit, #wearestuck, @BrianLoging, breath, Stillness

Hurry

Apr 4

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Hurry –

“Nature does not hurry.” This statement seems extra? true this winter. It should be spring but every time it warms up, the sun shines brilliantly inviting dreams of shorts and tank tops, warm breezes chase the chill from my bones, not too long after winter takes one more gasp and exhales its frosty breath down my back. Since Friday its been warm and sunny but last night a weather front, complete with window-rattling thunder, swept through and its cold again today with whispers of a chance of snow.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” If you didn’t step outside today and stayed in the warm indoors and looked out your window there’s the look of spring. Most things are blossoming, a bright, healthy green and the sunbeams dance off the panes of glass in the window. Illusions are powerful. They keep us from seeing, experiencing, knowing, understanding, existing in the truth. Even though its cold spring is here. Wearing long sleeve shirts and jackets doesn’t change this. Spring may seem slow in coming but the seasons have no timetable and come exactly when they mean to. Until then we let go of our demands and expectations knowing, in time, all is accomplished.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: # understanding, #accomplished, #blessings, #blossoming, #bones, #breezes, #bright, #brilliantly, #chance, #change, #chase, #chill, #Choose, #cold, #dance, #demands, #dreams, #exactly, #exhales, #existing, #expectations, #experiencing, #frosty, #gasp, #green, #healthy, #hurry, #illusions, #indoors, #inviting, #knowing, #lastnight, #outside, #powerful, #seasons, #seeing, #shorts, #slow, #snow, #spring, #statement, #stayed, #sunbeams, #sunny, #sunshines, #swept, #tanktops, #thewannabesaint.com, #thunder, #time, #timetable, #true, #truth, #Untilthen, #warm, #warmsup, #weatherfront, #whispers, #winter, @BrianLoging, Nature

Life Lost

Feb 26

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Life Lost –

Today, I stopped by Wal-Mart for a couple of items and headed to the checkout area. I had my choice of a person checking me out or self-checkout. The self-checkout had a couple of registers open so I chose one of them. I wasn’t in a hurry, didn’t have an appointment to go to or a schedule to stay on top of, it was simply faster and mindlessly I chose it. Instead of human interaction, an opportunity to say a kind word to a cashier, a chance to stand in line and share a smile, I went with the quickest and the most isolated.

These are the choices we face in our culture. We are able to order online, having most items shipped for free or close to it to our homes, open our doors and live without interaction, relating, or sharing our lives with one another.

At a time when communication is easier than it has ever been in the history of humankind, we are lonely. In a world full of hurting and wounded people we look in another direction to avoid seeing them. On a journey we should be making together we prefer to travel alone. Instead of caring for one another we see the other as a burden to carry.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #able, #alone, #appointment, #blessings, #burden, #caring, #carry, #chance, #checkout, #choice, #chose, #communication, #direction, #easier, #face, #faster, #full, #human, #humankind, #hurry, #hurting, #interaction, #isolated, #journey, #kind, #kindword, #life, #lifelost, #live, #lonely, #lost, #mindlessly, #oneanother, #online, #opportunity, #person, #prefer, #quickest, #relating, #schedule, #self-checkout, #share, #sharing, #shipped, #simply, #smile, #step, #time, #together, #word, #wounded, Culture, History, People, Travel, World

Transition

Oct 25

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Transition –

Earlier this week I watched a powerful documentary on people being released from prison. It was a story of two men who were sentenced under California’s outdated and recently reformed Three Strikes Law. Simply stated the law demanded that any criminal who was arrested and found guilty three times received a harsh prison sentence often 25 years to life. After almost 20 years of being in place, the penal system and the citizens of California realized it wasn’t effective, led to overpopulation in the jails, severely impacted people of color, and left a trail of broken families in its wake.

The documentary follows two of the thousands of men who have been released for petty, non-violent crimes, after serving decades in jail. The transition for both of them was difficult, however, one was able to get back on his feet stay clean and sober, get married and be promoted in his job. The other man, who had a strong family and church structure, struggled mightily. Old demons such as drugs and mental health issues kept him unbalanced and unable to find his groove the way the first man did. At the end of the documentary both men were still out and making their way the best they could.

As I watched the film I couldn’t help but feel for both of these men. I work with men who are incarcerated and addicted. Addiction is a powerful force for evil and destruction. Incarceration can also be a doorway to a life of crime and recidivism but I’ve also seen men who learn how to make different choices so as not to end up in the same predicament.

Men who do three things greatly reduce their chance of going back to jail or getting back into their addiction. The first is having a positive home environment that might not necessarily be with their biological family. The second is a full-time job, a chance to do something and receive. The third might be most important and that is living a life around positive people, folks who will pull you up not drag you down. These three things, which most of us take for granted, will help men stay balanced, sure-footed, and on the path to a new life.

Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over you will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: # newlife, #addicted, #addiction, #balanced, #biological, #chance, #choices, #destruction, #different, #doorway, #down, #drag, #evil, #folks, #force, #granted, #greatly, #help, #incarcerated, #jail, #life, #living, #mostimportant, #necessarily, #path, #positive, #powerful, #predicament, #psalm, #pslam121, #receive, #recidivism, #reduce, #sure-footed, #watched, Family, Crime, Environment, Film, Home, People

One Thought

Sep 28

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

One Thought –

Yesterday, a friend wrote on her Facebook page, to make sure you spell check political posts before putting them out there for the world to see. I commented snarkily; “How about not posting them at all?” To be honest, I grow tired of the division the current administration and media seems to thrive on and more tired of friends and family, people I love, choosing sides against one another.

Social media can be a great way to keep in contact with folks down the block and across the nation and world. It can be immensely helpful by giving people an opportunity to supply aid when natural disasters strike and notifying users around the world of prayer needs. I use social media for all of these things plus writing my blog. However, over the last year, there has been a noticeable trend towards nasty, mean and downright hateful posts and replies.

When I counsel men and couples on getting along with each other one of the disciplines I teach is the; “The Space in Between.” It is the understanding that between the action and reaction is a space. In this space, we decide how we are going to react and which consequences will come as a result. “The greater the space in between the better the chance of a good decision with positive outcomes. The shorter the space in between the better chance of making a bad decision with negative outcomes.”

When it comes to social media I wonder if we shouldn’t reflect on the question; “Will this help? Build up? Bring people closer?”

“No one regrets a harsh word unspoken.” -#Wisdom #Proverb

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Contemplative

1 Comment

Tags: # understanding, #action, #bad, #better, #between, #Buildup, #chance, #closer, #consequences, #counsel, #couples, #decide, #decision, #disciplines, #downright, #good, #greater, #harsh, #hateful, #help, #mean, #media, #men, #nasty, #noticeable, #outcomes, #positive, #posts, #questions, #react, #reaction, #Reflect, #regrets, #replies, #result, #shorter, #social, #space, #teach, #Thespaceinbetween, #trend, #unspoken, #wisdom, #wonder, Negative, proverb

In the Rubble

May 15

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Life can be hard, difficult, painful and full of loss. There are times, seasons, when the chaos of existence seems to strip us of everything we hold dear and we wonder; “Is there a reason to keep going? What’s the point when everything has been taken away?” When all around us has crumbled, our foundations have been shaken and those things which we’ve placed our faith in no longer exist and we come to place where love, grace and miracles are illusion, what do we do?

At this crisis point we are faced with the decision to trust when there doesn’t seem reason, to see blessing when your way is cursed, to expect life as death hovers near. From the rubble of disappointment, disease, defeat, dejection, even death comes a chance at a new beginning, an appreciation for what will emerge after all we value disappears.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #appreciation, #beginning, #blessing, #chance, #crisis, #cursed, #death, #decision, #defeat, #dejection, #disappears, #disappointment, #disease, #emerge, #expectations, #life, #new, #point, #reason, #rubble, #trust, #value

TheWannabeSaint.com

…..a place for sojourners on this spiritual path called life

Blog Archives

Into the Fire

Digging Around

Balancing Act

Stuck Behind

Hurry

Transition

In the Rubble

Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

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TheWannabeSaint.com

…..a place for sojourners on this spiritual path called life

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Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

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