Blog Archives

Project: Never Ending

Product Image 1

Project: Never Ending –

Today my wife and I hung the screen doors on our “never-ending project” we also call the porch. The doors made it look more completed and the end is in sight! However, we’ve said that before and then life gets in the way. Too many things to mention are more important than the project and we’ve set it aside several times to go and help others or have accepted the help of others during the past couple of years. When we finished hanging them we stepped back to the driveway and admired our work. Not perfect but not bad.

Wisdom teaches us that our lives may be never-ending projects but not in the same way as the porch. Those looking for truth accept that we will never stop learning, growing, if wisdom is what we seek. There will be breaks in between. Times when we need to accept our place on the path and rest. Other seasons where we focus our energies elsewhere by helping our family, neighbors, community, nation, and the world.

Finding balance is the key to grow, not at the expense of others, but with them.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Leave a comment

Tags: #accept, #accepted, #admired, #aside, #before, #blessings, #breaks, #completed, #endisinsight, #energies, #expense, #findingbalance, #finished, #focus, #growing, #helping, #helpothers, #keytogrow, #learning, #life, #looking, #mention, #moreimportant, #nation, #neighbors, #never-ending, #NeverEnding, #neverstop, #notbad, #Notperfect, #ourplace, #path, #project, #rest, #seasons, #seek, #stepped, #teaches, #thewannabesaint.com, #truth, #wisdom, @BrianLoging, Family, Community, World

Gently

May 22

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for yellow monarch butterfly

Gently –

Yesterday I stepped out on to our front screened in porch to let the dog have some alone time in the yard. Immediately a frantic movement caught my eye. Inside the screen porch, trapped in a corner was a Yellow Monarch Butterfly. Big, beautiful and needing to be free. I don’t know if butterflies know when they aren’t free but I knew and was determined to do something about it. I took my hands and gently tried to close my fingers around it. Several times it fluttered away but I was finally able to catch it, gently take it outside and then cautiously open my hands and watch it fly away.

I thought about my journey with mental illness and people in my life who have struggles of their own. We might not know we are trapped or at least not see a way out. We need help, assistance that doesn’t force, grab, clutch, and drag us to where someone else thinks we ought to be. We need gentleness, someone who won’t break our wings or our spirits but show us there is life, there is freedom.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life, Mental Health

Leave a comment

Tags: #able, #alone, #assistance, #beautiful, #big, #blessings, #break, #catch, #cautiously, #clutch, #determined, #dragus, #Finally, #fluttered, #flyaway, #force, #frantic, #freedom, #gentleness, #gently, #grab, #immediately, #inacorner, #life, #mentalillness, #movement, #myjourney, #need, #needhelp, #open, #seeawayout, #spirits, #stepped, #struggles, #thewannabesaint.com, #time, #trapped, #watch, #wings, #YellowMonarchButterfly, @BrianLoging, Free

Can You Hear Me?

May 19

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for listening ears

Can You Hear Me?

Earlier this week I had a frustrating conversation with someone (not Beth). I was attempting to explain and they weren’t receptive to my words body language and insistence. Finally, we decided we’d try again at a later date when cooler heads would prevail.

It is amazing how difficult it can be to communicate; listen and speak. It doesn’t only involve ears and mouths but minds, bodies, times, temperaments, and most of all the willingness of both parties to check their egos at the door. This is where I made my mistake. I was attempting to force someone to listen, to see and understand what I was doing and it wasn’t taking. Forcing people to do anything rarely, if ever, works. After we both stepped away I realized the whole situation was my fault. I wasn’t showing empathy but exasperation and that’s never a good head-space to be in when trying to speak to someone.

Thankfully, when we came back together I was able to recognize where I went wrong and tried a different way. I instructed and acted more respectfully and thoughtfully. I made sure not to try to cram information into someone but to let them absorb it. When it was over I apologized for my shortsightedness and hope this is a lesson I will take to heart.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Leadership

Leave a comment

Tags: #absorb, #acted, #amazing, #apologized, #attempting, #blessings, #bodies, #bodylanguage, #bothparties, #CanYouHearMe, #communicate, #conversation, #coolerheads, #cram, #decided, #differentway, #difficult, #ears, #egos, #empathy, #exasperation, #explain, #fault, #force, #Forcingpeople, #frustrating, #head-space, #heart, #hoped, #information, #insistence, #instructed, #involve, #know, #language, #lesson, #minds, #mistake, #mouths, #prevail, #rarely, #receptive, #recognize, #respectfully, #see, #shortsightedness, #speak, #stepped, #temperaments, #Thankfully, #thewannabesaint.com, #thoughtfully, #times, #together, #wholesituation, #willingness, #words, #wrong, @BrianLoging, Listen

Beneath

Mar 8

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for fire ants rotted wood

Beneath –

Today I was tearing down an old wooden, raised flowerbed that was built many years ago. It was mostly rotten and needed to be removed. I was on my hands and knees prying apart a corner and noticed the wood seemed to be moving. Looking closer I realized there was an ant bed behind the wood. If you know anything about ants it is that they’ve noticed you before you notice them. This was true. I looked and they were on the sleeves of my shirt and hands. Fortunately, I was stung only one time. I quickly stepped back and brushed myself off. It was amazing to watch how quickly they went on the defense when under attack. There was no discussion, no plan, just instinct and getting rid of the intruder.

I know people this way. They are quick to attack, slow to find out what’s happening. If they even perceive that someone is going to be a threat they become defensive and hostile. Some people attack themselves. They are more critical of their life than any critic would ever be. Others’ aggressive style protects themselves from getting hurt.

Wisdom teaches us that this is not the way to live with ourselves or others. We are to be patient, kind, grace-filled, faithful, hopeful, and loving with everyone, including us.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannbesaint.com

Posted in Life

Leave a comment

Tags: ##protect, #aggressive, #amazing, #anything, #attack, #before, #behind, #beneath, #blessings, #built, #closer, #critic, #critical, #defense, #defensive, #discussion, #down, #enemy, #everyone, #faithful, #find, #Fortunately, #getting, #grace-filled, #hands, #happening, #harshly, #hopeful, #hostile, #hurt, #including, #instinct, #intruder, #kind, #knees, #know, #looked, #looking, #loving, #mostly, #moving, #needed, #notice, #noticed, #patient, #perceive, #plan, #prying, #quick, #quickly, #realized, #removed, #rid, #rotten, #sleeves, #slow, #stepped, #teaches, #tearing, #themselves, #thewannbesaint.com, #true, #Under, #watch, #way, #wisdom, @BrianLoging, People, Style

Watching Over

Jan 31

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for watching

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

Posted in Mindfulness

Leave a comment

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

How’s Your Aim?

Jan 23

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for gun church

How’s Your Aim? –

This past Sunday morning the Mrs. and I went to our neighborhood church. It’s a small country congregation who meet in a small white building complete with steeple. We arrived as the service was starting and were quickly noticed by one of our neighbors and invited to sit with them. As with most small churches guests are welcomed profusely and it seemed as if every person in the worship room wanted to shake our hands and to tell us how happy they are to see us. This is one of the reasons I love small churches.

Finally, we were able to sit down and the music minister asked everyone to stand. We sang a few hymns and then the pastor stepped up on the platform to preach. As he was walking up to the pulpit I noticed he was carrying a firearm in a holster on his hip. I began looking around and noticed the music minister, and two ushers also were packing heat! Four guns in a group of about 30 people in a room no bigger than 25 feet by 50 feet. Needless to say, I didn’t feel safer and whispered to my wife; “There are 4 people with guns in this room. If someone comes in and starts shooting there will be bullets coming from every direction. Get on the ground and stay as low as you can!” The pastor spoke on; “Guarding your thoughts” but I must admit my thoughts were on all the firepower in the room and what would happen if someone’s gun fell out their holster and start going off!

This isn’t an anti-gun post it is simply surreal that guns in church are now an acceptable casualty of our culture. It also begs the question; “What would Jesus say about guns in a place of peace?”

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Jesus, The Master; The Gospel according to Saint John, Chapter 14

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Pastor, Prayers & Blessings, scripture reflection

Leave a comment

Tags: # neighborhood, #acceptable, #admit, #Advocate, #afraid, #Aim, #anti-gun, #around, #arrived, #blessings, #building, #bullets, #carrying, #casualty, #churches, #congregation, #country, #culture. #begs, #direction, #Finally, #firearm, #firepower, #give, #gospel, #ground, #group, #Guarding, #guests, #guns, #hands, #happy, #hearts, #holster, #HolySpirit, #hymns, #invited, #leave, #looking, #Master, #minister, #morning, #Needless, #neighbors, #noticed, #packingheat, #preach, #profusely, #pulpit, #question, #quickly, #reasons, #remind, #safer, #SaintJohn, #sang, #service, #shake, #shooting, #simply, #small, #spoke, #stand, #starting, #steeple, #stepped, #Sunday, #surreal, #teach, #troubled, #ushers, #walking, #welcomed, #whispered, #white, #worship, church, father, Jesus, love, music, Pastor, Peace, Platform, Thoughts, World

Don’t Resist

Jan 20

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

Posted in Mindfulness

Leave a comment

Tags: #abhorred, #ability, #able, #accept, #afternoon, #ago, #allow, #bad, #balmy, #bend, #blanket, #blessings, #breeze, #chased, #Clouds, #cold, #contentment, #control, #couple, #covered, #desired, #difference, #discipline, #discover, #ever-present, #exactly, #filled, #good, #ground, #high, #ice, #illusion, #life, #lives, #low, #needs, #now, #outside, #pace, #past, #power, #practice, #progress, #pursue, #remnants, #resist, #secret, #snow, #stepped, #stirred, #suffering, #sun, #temperatures, #temps, #think, #unwanted, #wanted, #warm, #warmer, #wild, #will, #wrapped, breathe, Peace, Soul, Weather

TheWannabeSaint.com

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

Blog Archives

Project: Never Ending

Gently

Can You Hear Me?

Beneath

Watching Over

Don’t Resist

Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

Recent Articles

Selected Poems

explore TWS

TheWannabeSaint.com

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

Blog Archives

Project: Never Ending

Share w/ Someone...

Like this:

Gently

Share w/ Someone...

Like this:

Can You Hear Me?

Share w/ Someone...

Like this:

Beneath

Share w/ Someone...

Like this:

Watching Over

Share w/ Someone...

Like this:

How’s Your Aim?

Share w/ Someone...

Like this:

Don’t Resist

Share w/ Someone...

Like this:

Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

Recent Articles

Selected Poems

explore TWS