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Untangle

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for tangled hosepipe

Untangle –

Yesterday I made a promise to my wife. Actually, it was more of a threat. I threatened to leave the hose pipe outside all winter instead of putting it up in the fall. The reason for this is no matter what I try it all seems to be one giant tangled mess when I pull it out in the spring. One of my chores on Thursday was to untangle the jumbled mess of about three hundred feet of hose pipe. First I grabbed and dragged out most of it. Then I detached the ends to make them easier to work with. After this, I pulled each pipe end going over and under the other until I finally had one section free! When I did this six or seven times all the sections were in their own place and then hooking them together again one at a time I was able to run the hose pipe to the different areas of the yard. Whew! It was a hard, difficult job but had to be done.

In my work with men, fathers, and families, the initial times we meet to set up a plan of learning and action can seem like wrestling with a jumbled mess of hose pipe. However, with time and patience slowly learning, finding and breaking down the challenges, habits, hurts, and hang-ups, we can begin to put the pieces back together again.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #action, #areas, #backtogether, #begin, #blessings, #breakingdown, #challenges, #detached, #different, #difficult, #drug, #easier, #families, #fathers, #Finally, #finding, #giant, #grabbed, #habits, #hang-ups, #hard, #hooking, #hurts, #individual, #initial, #instead, #job, #jumbledmess, #learning, #meet, #men, #mess, #nomatterwhat, #oneatatime, #outside, #over, #patience, #pieces, #plan, #promise, #pulled, #reason, #section, #setup, #slowly, #tangled, #thewannabesaint.com, #threat, #threatened, #Under, #Untangle, #Whew, #work, #workwith, #wrestling, @BrianLoging, Free

What’s Inside

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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What’s Inside –

This afternoon I burned old collected limbs which had fallen this past winter. Along with twigs and branches, there was a stack of large limbs that I cut up last year when part of a big tree was torn down by a thunderstorm. They had finally dried out enough where they would burn quickly. It didn’t take long to have a large fire burning brightly and hot! After a while, there wasn’t much left of the burn pile but red, orange, and blue scorching ashes. Before heading to the house I took a water bottle that was almost half filled with water and laid it on the hot embers. I watched as it shrunk, popped the top off and melted the places of the bottle where there wasn’t any water. However, where there was water the plastic didn’t melt. I watched as the water inside began to boil but the plastic wasn’t consumed. Because of the water inside the plastic didn’t melt outside. It was awesome to watch and wait to see how long it lasted. Finally, of course, the water evaporated and the plastic shriveled by the flames but it took longer than it should have given the power of the heat and flame.

It was a wonderful reminder that what’s inside; our spirit, emotions, mentality, don’t just protect what can’t be seen but also protects the outside, what we can see; our health, bodies, and relationships.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

Tags: ##protect, #ashes, #awesome, #blessings, #blue, #bodies, #boil, #branches, #brightly, #burned, #burning, #burnpile, #consumed, #didn't, #down, #embers, #emotions, #evaporated, #fallen, #Finally, #fire, #flame, #flames, #given, #halffilled, #heat, #hot, #large, #lasted, #lastyear, #limbs, #long, #longer, #melt, #melted, #mentality, #muchleft, #orange, #outside, #places, #plastic, #popped, #power, #protects, #quickly, #red, #reminder, #scorching, #shriveled, #shrunk, #spirit, #stack, #thewannabesaint.com, #thunderstorm, #torn, #twigs, #wait, #wasn't, #watch, #watched, #water, #waterbottle, #waterinside, #WhatsInside, #wonderful, @BrianLoging, Health, Relationships

Sounds Like

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Sounds Like –

Twenty years ago this week an F3 tornado tore through downtown Nashville, Tennessee (http://www.wkrn.com/news/f-3-tornado-hit-nashville-20-years-ago_20180416214213/1126239206) We weren’t living in Tennessee at that time but we happened to be in Nashville chaperoning hundreds of teenagers at an annual talent and skills competition on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene University. When the announcement came down that all were supposed to seek shelter several of us ran to the different ball fields, tennis courts and other places where events were being held. Making sure to get everyone we saw to safety without a lot of chit-chat was important, however, one young teenage girl stopped and with fear in her eyes and voice asked me if we were in the path of the tornado? Guiding her inside as I answered; “I don’t know.” “How will we know?” she inquired. Not being a meteorologist I repeated what I once had been told; “A tornado sounds like a train!” Unbeknownst to my inquisitor, there was a set of railroad tracks behind the campus of Trevecca. At the exact time, I told her a tornado sounded like a train a train going past the school sounded its horn. “I hear the tornado! I hear the tornado!” I peered into her fear brimmed eyes, smiled and said; “Sweetie, tornadoes may sound like trains but they don’t come equipped with horns.” I got her with the rest of the students in a basement, shut the door and stood outside watching, listening for the tornado and laughing, thankful that even in this storm of chaos a light of joy can shine through.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: "tennessee, #announcement, #annual, #answered, #asked, #behind, #blessings, #brimmed, #campus, #chaos, #chaperoning, #competition, #different, #equipped, #exact, #eyes, #F3, #fear, #Guiding, #happened, #hear, #horn, #horns, #important, #inquired, #inquisitor, #inside, #joy, #Laughing, #light, #listening, #living, #meteorologist, #Nazarene, #outside, #path, #peered, #railroad, #repeated, #safety, #seek, #several, #shelter, #shine, #shut, #skills, #smiled, #sounded, #SoundsLike, #stood, #stopped, #storm, #supposed, #talent, #thankful, #thewannabesaint.com, #through, #time, #told, #tornado, #tracks, #train, #Trevecca, #Unbeknownst, #University, #voice, #watching, @BrianLoging

Second Thoughts

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Second Thoughts –

Earlier this afternoon there was a knock on our front door. Unfortunately, I was indisposed and couldn’t answer it and be decent at the same time. When I finally got to the door the person was gone and all that was left was a book on the evilness of Protestantism. I picked up the book, flipped through it as I walked into the house. I put it down in the foyer and continued on with my day.

However, as I was busy with other things a thought crept into my mind; “What if someone had brushed a coat of poison on the outside cover of the book? What if there had been dust inside and as I flipped through it floated into the air and on me?” I asked my wife; “How have we gotten to a place in the world where a book left on a front porch can cause us to have thoughts of terrorism and criminal intent?”

We live in a time where nothing seems innocent. We are suspicious, judgemental, accusatory, on high alert, expecting and preparing for the worst. How do we get back to a more innocent time? Was there ever such a thing?

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #accusatory, #air, #answer, #blessings, #brushed, #busy, #cause, #coat, #continued, #cover, #crept, #criminalintent, #decent, #dust, #earlier, #evilness, #expecting, #flipped, #floated, #foyer, #highalert, #indisposed, #innocent, #innocenttime, #inside, #judgemental, #knock, #live, #outside, #poison, #Preparing, #Protestantism, #SecondThoughts, #suspicious, #terrorism, #thewannabesaint.com, #unfortunately, #walked, #worst, @BrianLoging, Book, Mind, Thought

Soul Alive

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Soul Alive –

Outside, under our two sheds and front porch are families of rabbits. I see them when I let out the dog, who’s too old to chase them anymore, when I drive the truck into the driveway, when I sit still long enough and wait for them to emerge from their hiding holes. It excites me. Wildlife has always had this impact on me. I slow down to look at deer on the sides of the highway or in far-off fields. Stare at Falcons and Hawks perched on fence posts or electric poles. Turkeys, skunks, opossum, armadillos, foxes, even cows grab my attention.

I grew up in the suburbs but my parents took us to National Parks as often as the could. We loved camping, canoeing, hiking, exploring. We saw lots of wildlife and even had a few run-ins with Black Bears. I believe this is where my love of nature was born and raised along with the important lessons of treating it gently, basking in its beauty and always leaving a place better than you found it.

Nature, along with other gifts we take for granted each day, bring life to my soul. I can’t imagine not being excited, filled with joy, while experiencing it.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

Tags: #alive, #attention, #basking, #believe, #better, #blessings, #born, #bringlife, #camping, #canoeing, #emerge, #enough, #excites, #experiencing, #exploring, #far-off, #filled, #found, #gently, #gifts, #grab, #granted, #impact, #important, #joy, #Leaving, #lessons, #long, #look, #loved, #NationalParks, #outside, #raised, #see, #sit, #slow, #slowdown, #soul. #imagine, #soulalive, #stare, #still, #thewannabesaint.com, #treating, #wait, #Wildlife, @BrianLoging, beauty, Hiking, Nature, Soul

Hurry

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 Mindfulness

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

Where You Step

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Where You Step –

Earlier this week I got up off the couch to walk from the living room to the bathroom. As I did my phone chimed with an email alert. I picked it up and continued walking while reading and scrolling through the message. Unfortunately, I did not see the dog who for some reason had decided he was going to sleep on one of the bathroom mats. I didn’t hurt him but did trip myself. Fortunately, I did catch myself. I had an immediate sense of shame as I help others to be focused, aware, mindful of where they step on the path of life and here I am stumbling over the pooch in my house. Sigh.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote “Be careful when you step outside your door Frodo. You never know where your feet will lead you.” This goes for inside your house as well.

Where we look is where we end up. Our lives are often the sum of our choices and where we choose to fix our gaze. My gaze that day wasn’t on where I was headed but on a small screen with a message that could’ve waited a few minutes. Too many times we allow the illusion of urgency leads us to lack awareness and a place of unbalance.

Let’s watch our steps or there’s no telling where we’ll end up going.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: #alert, #allow, #aware, #awareness, #bathroom, #Becareful, #blessings, #catch, #chimed, #choices, #Choose, #continued, #decided, #door, #earlier, #email, #endup, #Feet, #fix, #focused, #Fortunately, #gaze, #going, #headed, #help, #house, #illusion, #immediate, #inside, #know, #lack, #leads, #life, #look, #Message, #mindful, #minutes, #never, #often, #outside, #path, #phone, #picked, #pooch, #reading, #reason, #scrolling, #see, #sense, #Sigh. #JRRTolkien, #sleep, #step, #stumbling, #sum, #telling, #thewannabesaint.com, #trip, #unbalance, #unfortunately, #urgency, #waited, #walk, #walking, #watch, #WhereYouStep, @BrianLoging, Lead, shame

Cracked

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Cracked –

My fingers have a nasty way of cracking and splitting open when I work outside during the winter in cold and dry conditions. Last week my thumb developed a big one. I had several days of work in front of me and it was becoming sorer by the moment. Finally, after arriving home from a trip yesterday, my wife “made it better.” She cleaned it with Peroxide, gently using a Q-Tip to get the dirt and grime in the crack, applied Neosporin to the affected area and then covered it with a Band-Aid to keep it protected. I repeated the procedure this afternoon and will continue until it improves.

Certain seasons of life can also wound us physically, emotionally and spiritually. We do our best to keep going but sooner or later we must pay attention to the hurt because if we don’t it will only get worse. At times others can help us heal and other times we can do it ourselves. Wisdom teaches us the important axiom; “If we can’t take care of ourselves we can’t take care of others.”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: ##continue, #affected, #applied, #area, #arriving, #axiom, #Band-Aid, #becoming, #better, #blessings, #care, #certain, #cleaned, #cold, #conditions, #covered, #Cracked, #cracking, #dirt, #dry, #during, #emotionally, #Finally, #fingers, #gently, #going, #grime, #heal, #help, #hurt, #important, #improves, #keep, #later, #life, #nasty, #Neosporin, #open, #ourselves, #outside, #payattention, #Peroxide, #physically, #procedure, #protected, #Q-Tip, #repeated, #seasons, #several, #sooner, #sorer, #spiritually, #splitting, #teaches, #thewannabesaint.com, #times, #way, #wisdom, #work, #worse, #wound, .#developed, @BrianLoging, Home, moment

Protection

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Protection –

We have a family of rabbits living underneath our shed. Every now and then, when we go outside, we spot one of them. They aren’t too afraid of us because we do our best not disturb the big or little ones. Trooper, our Siberian Husky, on the other hand, is on the lookout for a new play buddy. The problem is his “toys” are deceased after he plays with them. So, we have become the rabbit’s protectors. We do our best to make sure they aren’t in the area Trooper likes to frequent outside, know there is danger nearby making noise and giving them reasons to run and hide for a while. Though we try we know that Trooper or another predator could make quick work of the rabbit family. Snakes, cats, coyotes, raccoons, other varmints are dangers which could strike any day at any time.

There are many things we desire to protect in life. Some are possessions but for most of us, we long to protect the ones we love. However, as grow older, and hopefully wiser, the more we realize we cannot protect them from everything. Truthfully we cannot protect them from much that life throws their way. We can be there for them we can help them through the difficulties they are going through. This is a form of protection, one which reminds them they are never alone.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: ##protect, #afraid, #after, #alone, #area, #best, #blessings, #danger, #dangers, #deceased, #desire, #difficulties, #disturb, #form, #frequent, #giving, #grow, #help, #hide, #hopefully, #life, #living, #lookout, #nearby, #never, #older, #outside, #possessions, #predator, #problem, #protection, #protectors, #quick, #realize, #reasons, #reminds, #run, #strike, #thewannabesaint.com, #throws, #Truthfully, #way, #wiser, #work, @BrianLoging, Family, love, Noise

What’s in a Day?

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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What’s in a Day? –

I was once asked by someone; “What do you want to do with your life? What are your plans for the future?” I was sitting outside, leaned back and thought for a moment and then surprising my interrogator and myself replied; “I’m doing it. I am content. I have no more plans.” My friend didn’t like my answer because everyone should have something they are striving for. How else can you measure life unless it’s by your accomplishments? As a contemplative wisdom teaches that days are measured by the moments when you are aware of your connectedness to all living things and that the universe is in every experience.

What would you do if today were your last? Martin Luther is reputed to have said, “If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree.” In other words, I would contribute to the beauty of the world and thus the universe. As Marcus Aurelius states in the quote, I would want to live my last day as I hope to live every day; “without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense.”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: # moments, #accomplishments, #answer, #apathy, #asked, #aware, #blessings, #connectedness, #content, #contribute, #day, #end, #experience, #frenzy, #Future, #hope, #interrogator, #last, #lastday, #leaned, #life, #live, #livingthings, #MarcusAurelius, #MartinLuther, #measure, #measured, #nomoreplans, #outside, #Plans, #pretense, #quote, #reputed, #Sitting, #states, #striving, #surprising, #teaches, #today, #tomorrow, #universe, #wisdom, #without, beauty, Contemplative, moment, Plant, Thought, Tree, World

Full of Junk

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Full of Junk –

Today is President’s Day. I wish I would’ve remembered that before this afternoon. The last few weeks have been rough weather wise. Cold, rainy, windy and our trash has piled up in the bin outside. Finally, today, it was dry enough to put the all the trash in the back of the truck and take it to the Refuse and Recycle Center. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to do it before meeting with some fathers today so it sat in the back of the truck until afternoon. My truck looked like Sanford and Son. After finishing up my appointments I headed to the dump. I was almost there and thankful to get rid of the trash. Then, to my disbelieving eyes, the gates were closed and it dawned on me; “President’s Day.” It was a holiday and county employees weren’t working today. My truck would stay loaded down until tomorrow. “Grrrr!” and “Sigh.”

“Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.” Easy sentence to write a hard sentence to live. We are surrounded by many negative things which can be like anchors to our spirits. Violence, injustice, racism, sexism, bigotry, and all sorts of evil that threaten to permeate our souls. We must be careful, watchful, mindful to not allow this corruption of creation to become a part of us, absorb us, soak up our existence and make us apart of what we should be fighting against.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: #absorb us, #anchors, #appointments, #before, #bigotry, #bin, #blessings, #careful, #center, #closed, #Corruption, #creation, #dawned, #disbelieving, #dry, #dump, #easy, #enough, #evil, #eyes, #fathers, #fighting, #Finally, #finishing, #full, #gates, #happening, #hard, #headed, #injustice, #inside, #loaded, #meeting, #mindful, #notallow, #outside, #permeate, #piled, #presidents, #presidentsDay, #racism, #rainy, #Recycle, #refuse, #remembered, #ridof, #rough, #SanfordandSon, #sentence, #sexism, #soakup, #souls, #spirits, #stay, #surrounded, #thankful, #threaten, #today, #trash, #unfortunately, #violence, #watchful, #weigh, #windy, #wise. #Cold, #working, existence, Holiday, junk, Negative, Weather, Write

Watching Over

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Watching Over –

This afternoon I ran into a store to grab something I needed. The place didn’t have the item so I exited the store. As soon as I stepped outside I could hear a toddler screaming. I looked and the mom, clearly at her breaking point, was fussing at a small boy and neither was getting the better of the other. Finally, the mom, who was waiting for the dad to come out with keys told this boy and his sister who was standing beside the grocery cart watching the scene unfold, to wait while she ran into the store. I sat and watched as she left both toddlers by the car and began to walk inside. I couldn’t leave. I thought to myself; “Someone has to watch over these kids.” Suddenly the little girl bolted towards the mom who was inside the store by now. I tried to watch over both of them making sure no cars were coming or that anything else would happen to them. After a few moments, the mom emerged holding the hand of her daughter walking toward the boy who had only gotten louder when mom disappeared leaving him in the cart. I left knowing they were safer than when they were alone.

This post isn’t about how bad the mom handled the situation. I’m not a parent and have no idea what its like to have children wanting, needing, things all day every day. It’s about helping others, watching over them, caring enough to protect even if the parties don’t realize you’re there. There are times in our lives when all of us need someone to watch over us.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: # moments, ##protect, #allday, #alone, #beside, #better, #blessings, #bolted, #boy, #breaking, #caring, #children, #clearly, #Dad, #daughter, #disappeared, #emerged, #enough, #everyday, #exited, #hand, #handled, #hear, #helping, #him, #holding, #idea, #inside, #knowing, #leave, #Leaving, #left, #little, #lives, #louder, #makingsure, #mom, #need, #needed, #needing, #others, #outside, #over, #parent, #parties, #point, #realize, #safer, #scene, #screaming, #Sister, #situation, #small, #standing, #stepped, #Suddenly, #toddler, #toward, #unfold, #wait, #waiting, #walk, #walking, #wanting, #watched, #watching, #watchover

Hate

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Hate –

I listened to a conversation this week where the person told another, to their face, that they hated them. “I hated you when you left,” they said. “It took a long time to not hate you anymore.” It was an honest and startling admission. Most times people are adept at not showing the person they hate their true feelings.

It left me with a question; “Have I ever, in my life, hated someone?” I define hate; as the inability to see the good in someone. As I reflected on the question a person came to mind. If I’ve ever hated someone, according to my definition, this man fit the criteria. I had the hardest time seeing the good, the light, the benefit of his existence, the unique expression of God in him. It was, at times, impossible to not be suspicious of his motives, think of the worst outcome of his decisions, belittle his beliefs and talents. Then, one day, ranting in my head about something he had done the question came from out of the blue; “Can you see any good in this man?” My mind stopped dead in its tracks. The answer was “no, I couldn’t.” It was then I realized the problem wasn’t him it was me.

I’d love to post about how this moment fixed everything but it didn’t. However, it did give me a new way of looking at this person and my role in the frustration, anxiety, and chaos within me. It took me a long time to forgive the hurt and betrayal he had caused but I began focusing on what was going on inside of me instead of what someone was doing on the outside. This made all the difference.

“You will never see God until you can see Him in every next face you see.” #SaintMotherTeresa

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Don’t Resist

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Don’t Resist –

This afternoon I stepped outside and the warmer temperatures wrapped me like a blanket. The sun shone on me and the warm breeze stirred my soul. It’s been cold the past few weeks. Only a couple of days ago the ground was covered with snow and ice. Today, there is little snow to be seen and the remnants are being chased away by the balmy weather. The kicker is I didn’t have anything to do with the high and low temps, the sun or the clouds filling the sky, the wild difference between now and the near past. All I did was stay warm on the cold days and breathe in the warmth this afternoon.

Life is mostly filled with things we have no control over. We want the ability, the power to make things bend to our will but this is an illusion. If we pursue this type of control our lives will be filled with suffering. The secret to contentment and peace is to allow life to progress at its pace and accept what we think is good and bad, wanted and unwanted, desired and abhorred.

When we are able to practice this discipline we discover the ever-present now is exactly what it needs to be and so are we.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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I Insist

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

I Insist –

A few days ago I posted a political article on my Facebook page. It was a snarky article but I thought it spoke beyond the snark and pointed to a larger and important point. It didn’t take long for people on both sides of the political landscape to begin voicing their opinions. By the time I woke up the next morning my Facebook feed was littered with exuberant cheers and bellicose jeers. After reading a few comments on the article I deleted it. I don’t have any desire to be one more voice in the cacophony of political arguments that dominate our national disagreements.

It was a stark reminder that we live in perilous times where debate and discussion have disappeared and have been replaced by something else that’s a mean, vicious, attack and take no prisoners approach to others who have a different opinion, view on politics, world affairs, life in general and specific.

I don’t want to be in this place personally or culturally. Somehow we must find our way back from allowing our identities to be attached to fleeting things; people, regions, political parties, church affiliation, and cultural icons. We need to discover who we are by journeying inward not abdicating ourselves to what’s outside of us. It’s our only hope for survival and peace.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Warmth

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for electric fleece throw

Warmth –

I think I’m in love with the electric-heated fleece throw my wife bought me for Christmas. It is wonderful! Especially when it is cold outside like this week has been. Instead of putting over me I’ve tucked it in and around the place I sit on the couch. I come home, turn it on, throw a blanket on top, change and by the time I’m ready to sit down the blanket is warm. It’s like sinking into a soft cocoon of heat. The room and house don’t feel as cold when I am wrapped in the throw.

There are also people and places who make us feel this way. There’s something about their presence which makes us feel good and safe. I’m not a hugger but I love getting hugs from my wife. She’s the type of person who portrays warmth and acceptance. My aunt Evon, who passed away several years ago, was the same way.

In a world which seems to be increasingly divided, we need more warmth, more acceptance, more love. Our crazy mixed up world thinks there are other ways to heal the divisions, start over, bring peace. Truly, only love has that power. It takes more courage to love someone than to hate them, let go of prejudices than keep them, listen and build relationships instead of keeping everyone who disagrees with us at arm’s length.

Warmth. On a cold day in December, it’s a needed and comforting thought.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Pure

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Pure –

One of the images I like to use with the men I work with is an illustration about a sponge soaked in water.

If I were to go to a store, find the kitchen aisle, and buy a pack of sponges, I could take them home to use as I see fit. If I opened the packaging, took out one sponge and if my kitchen sink was clean I could fill it up with water, take the sponge which had never been used, ball it up in my hand, plunge it in the water, let it go and it would soak up clean water. If I then retrieved another sponge from the packaging, took it outside, found a mud puddle, balled up the sponge in my hand, plunged it in the murky water, let it go, it would soak up dirty water. The sponge isn’t the difference, it’s the water.

It’s similar to our lives. We are mostly products of where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. If our intentions are good and our hearts are pure most likely we will produce good results and our minds and spirits will be at peace. If, however, our hearts and intentions are selfish we will have no peace and wreak havoc on the lives of others.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Searching

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Searching –

This morning my family gathered together to write my father’s obituary and order of service for his memorial. After a while, we took a break and I walked outside with my niece and spotted a huge Sycamore leaf. It was the biggest one at first we could see and then it became a competition on who could find the largest one of all. We searched a long time and when we were convinced we had discovered the most sizeable one we began looking for the smallest one. This was harder because we had to look under, beside and move other leaves to find the smallest. Finally, we believed we had the tiniest Sycamore leaf in the yard.

It was another busy day with people visiting, numerous phone calls, memorial service being organized, visiting the florist, and other errands. In the hustle and bustle of things, a family must do when one they love has passed it’s hard to find the peace one desires. The big things, the things which must get done are easy to find, it’s the small things; the glimpses of hope, the good memories, times when the good of a life well-lived shines in the darkness of a loved one parting.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Saint John, chapter 1

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Blind

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Blind –

Last night a mighty storm with fast blowing winds and rain came through our area. I sat in the house listening to dead limbs being shaken from the big Oak tree in our front yard, the rain pounding on the roof. There were a few times I went outside to see the storm but the sun had already set and with the clouds overhead there wasn’t much to view. Then the power went out. It wasn’t surprising because of the fierceness of the wind. I went outside again and nothing could be seen but I could feel the wind threatening to blow me over as it had a couple of our potted trees. Finally, after a few hours, the storm had passed, the lights were back on, and I was thankful the storm has passed.

I don’t like storms at night. The biggest reason is that I can’t see anything, not even the direction of the blowing wind. As I sat in a candlelit living room, everything quiet but storm raging outside, I was reminded of life and the storms we face. There are times we see the storm coming but there are other times when one comes out of nowhere. It’s ferociousness rocks our lives and we feel blind as we try to feel our way forward. These can be the scariest of all because there is seemingly no light to see by, to make us feel safe, or to tell us we are nearing the end. The only thing we can do is wait, trusting that no storm lasts forever.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Dig

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Dig –

A few weeks ago I broke the wooden handle on my shovel. This week my wife bought me a new one. It’s a Kobalt and guaranteed “unbreakable“. I did bend it a little today uprooting a stubborn bush. So unbreakable? Perhaps. Un-bendable? Nope.

It was, still is, a gorgeous day outside. Tomorrow the heat and humidity are supposed to come sweeping in but we enjoyed the moment of this day by working way too hard. We’re both exhausted but it’s a good tired.

As I dug holes for bushes and trees, filled the back of the truck with dirt and planted some grass with my new shovel I thought about the digging we do in our lives. Stillness, mindfulness, reflection are basically the same discipline with its goal to remove anything that stifles the life within us.

Digging around isn’t easy on the outside or on the inside but it’s necessary if we are to make old things new, ugly stuff beautiful, and go deep enough that growth, life, is possible.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: #beautiful, #deep, #deepenough, #digging, #diggingaround, #discipline, #goingdeep, #inside, #life, #new, #outside, #shovel, #tired, beauty, mindfulness, Old, Silence, Stillness

Outside

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for carhartt overalls

Outside –

A few weeks ago I was working outside in my overalls. A friend stopped by and was shocked I looked so “country.” “What are you wearing?” was the first thing he said to me. I was taken aback by how he couldn’t get over my overalls. “I actually have a couple of pairs and wear them to keep from getting too dirty, they have multiple pockets to put things in, and look great with my boots!” I thought he might faint. He’s known me primarily in work and play clothes, never in yard work attire. It was as if a pair of overalls changed his view of me.

Yesterday, I almost threw myself into a political/theological argument a friend was having on Facebook. I thought better of it and remembered that social media is not the place to have deep conversations. As I read the thread of the discussion the primary antagonist held several views I disagree with and supported his arguments with not so pleasant words of attacks and insults. I finally stopped reading the conversation because my view of this man was becoming negative, judgemental and I didn’t even know him!

His beliefs and convictions are not mine but too often, like my friend when seeing me in overalls, differing points of view cause us to see people in certain ways. We use political, theological and a host of other convictions as litmus tests to place people in certain categories, judge them as unworthy, unintellectual, strange, sinful, or label them in other insulting ways.

People are more than their outward appearances and opinions. When we allow our view of them to be shaped by what we see or hear on the outside we are actually revealing more about ourselves than them.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

Tags: #appearances, #judge, #judging, #judgmental, #opinions, #outside, #outward, #overalls

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