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Catch Me

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Catch Me –

Pastors, social workers, nurses, doctors, organizations, and ministries are, by design, places where people get help. The help comes in many forms but the places which offer assistance are staffed, mostly, by people who want to reach out to the unfortunate among us. These unfortunate ones are not always poor, addicted, homeless, challenged mentally, grew up with poor role models, but many do bear one or more of these burdens.

The urge is to rescue them. To be the hero in the story of their lives. To sweep in with our resources and connections and leave them in awe at how their lives are now healed and whole. However, it doesn’t take long to discover we may want to help but we do not have the power to change their lives. Only they can do what needs to be done. They must be the hero, their own rescuer. We can provide them with the tools and skills to begin the transformation but they do the work of lasting change.

It is this way for all of us. Too often we want the easy way to self-discovery, enlightenment, and fulfillment but there is no easy way. It is a journey both inside of us and out. We will have company on the road of life but the steps to the destination must be our own.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Sweeping Up

Feb 8

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Sweeping Up–

This past weekend my wife and I were going to do some needed cleaning. However, as the weekend wore on we both discovered motivation was lacking. I told her I would vacuüm the house one day this week and today was it. I began with a simple vacuüm across the floors but then noticed there were dust bunnies under a piece of furniture. I grabbed the broom and swept up the dirt only to discover there was more than I thought. Getting down on my hands and knees I swept all the way back and to the sides. There wasn’t a dust bunny it was more like a family of rabbits. I then began to do this to all the furniture and; “Wow!” The vacuuming chore took more time than I anticipated because of the extra work required. Real cleaning is a whole other level of commitment.

As I swept up all the little furballs and removed and returned furniture back to its original place I reflected on the need to deep clean our minds and spirits. It’s not too difficult to do a quick surface sweep but to get down to the hidden dirt and grime that reside in the dark places we must be willing to be uncomfortable and humble.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Redeemed

Dec 9

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Redeemed –

This morning my scripture readings included the 43 chapter of Isaiah. I had heard a selection of this chapter earlier this week at my dad’s memorial service. He mentioned these verses many times and one of his favorite words in this passage was the word; “Redeemed.”

To redeem means to; “compensate for the faults or bad aspects of (something), to gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.”

My dad wasn’t a perfect man. He had his habits, hurts, and hangups as we all do. Sunday afternoon, as my mother and I traveled back to her house after meeting the pastoral team who would do his service, I mentioned to my mom that for days all we heard was the good stuff about dad. She responded; “People think he’s a saint!” We both laughed and talked about the myriad of frustrating things dad did that aggravated us so much and the things we did that triggered him.

“The beginning of love is to let the one we love be perfectly themselves,
not twist them to fit our own image.
Otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”
#ThomasMerton

Remembering someone after they’ve passed is to try to hold the whole of them together in our hearts and minds. The good and not so good. The positive and the negative. The stuff we loved and the things which drove us crazy.

Loving each other isn’t about forcing someone to change to meet our expectations or being blind to their faults. It is allowing a fusion of imperfect souls to connect in a deeper way where; “love covers a multitude of sins,” a mountain of aggravation, a collection of experiences that allows each one to maintain their unique identity but also redeems both the loved and the lover and together they are better and greater because of it.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #aggravated, #aggravation, #allowing, #allows, #aspects, #bad, #beginning, #better, #blessings, #blind, #change, #collection, #compensate, #connect, #dads, #deeper, #exchange, #expectations, #experiences, #faults, #favorite, #find, #forcing, #frustrating, #fusion, #gain, #good, #greater, #habits, #hangups, #hearts, #hold, #hurts, #identity, #image, #imperfect, #isaiah, #Isaiah43, #laughed, #lovecovers, #loved, #lover, #maintain, #Memorial, #mentioned, #minds, #morning, #mountain, #multitude, #notsogood, #passage, #passed, #payment, #perfect, #perfectly, #positive, #possession, #readings, #Redeemed, #redeems, #regain, #Remembering, #saint, #scripture, #service, #sins, #souls, #talked, #thegoodstuff, #themselves, #ThomasMerton, #together, #triggered, #twist, #unique, #way, #whole, #words, crazy, love, Negative, reflection

Similar

Nov 27

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Similar –

This morning, on my way to a meeting, I was driving on the main two-lane road in Columbia, Tennessee. I was about to switch lanes when I happened to look up to see a red truck all of a sudden swerve from behind me in the right to the left lane. He didn’t use a signal or proceed cautiously. He seemed in a hurry to get wherever he was going and I waited for him to pass before signaling and merging to the other lane. A few minutes later a white truck ahead of us both quickly jumped from the right lane to the left lane in front of the red truck and then turned on his signal to turn on to another road. The driver of the red truck had to slam on his brakes and I watched as he shook his head at the carelessness of the other driver. I wondered if it ever dawned on him that they had driving habits in common? Probably not. I reflected on the fact that we recognize bad driving in others but rarely notice it in ourselves. The rest of the way to my meeting I followed the driver of the red truck and pondered if I was also a bad driver but hadn’t realized it yet.

We often spot the bad in the other person. Judge harshly another’s words and actions. We jump to conclusions and condemnations about people we see for a moment and allow it to become the lens by which we determine their motivations and value. We are too quick to label people as something negative because of a lapse in judgment. Our world doesn’t have a lot of empathy. We don’t want to walk a mile in another’s shoes. It’s easier to pronounce them as bad or stupid, unqualified or evil.

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”
-The Master, Gospel of Saint Matthew 7:3-5

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #7:3-5, #actions, #allow, #bad, #blessings, #boomeranging, #carelessness, #common, #conclusions, #condemnations, #contempt, #critical, #criticize, #dawned, #determine, #distorted, #easier, #empathy, #evil, #fact, #failures, #faults, #followed, #gospel, #habits, #harshly, #holier-than-thou, #judge, #judgment, #jumptoconclusions, #label, #lapse, #lens, #living, #Master, #mentality, #motivations, #neighbors, #nerve, #notice, #oblivious, #often, #ourselves, #playing, #pondered, #Probably, #pronounce, #quick, #rarely, #realized, #recognize, #reflected, #road-show, #SaintMatthew, #sneer, #spirit, #spot, #stupid, #traveling, #treatment, #ugly, #unqualified, #value, #walkamile, #watched, #whole, #Wipe, #wondered, #words, moment, Negative, World

Perspective

Nov 7

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Perspective –

Beth and I were talking over the weekend about perspective. It amazes me as I get older the more control I lose and the greater perspective I gain. Whether it’s a few moments, days, months or years, our lives, which we like to plan, can come undone.

The world has never been predictable. I was speaking with a friend the other day about the instability which surrounds us. Our political systems, family and community systems, even our environment seems to be spinning out of control. Nothing, if it ever was, is normal nor inevitable.

Last night I read a quote from Eugene Peterson, a pastor, writer, and scholar. He writes;

“The whole of the spiritual life is learning to die.”

This quote resonated with my spirit and experiences over the last several years. Dying takes many forms. Death of all things is a given but we seem to organize our lives as if we might be the ones to escape the fate of everyone else. Death is not a negative word if you’ve learned to die. If you do not hold on treasures and trinkets, live each day as if it’s your last; being kind, grace-filled and loving, never putting off to an uncertain tomorrow what can be done now, in the present moment.

We are but sojourners on this path called life. We are not meant nor built to last for long. With this perspective; how we choose to be today could be how our transient life is remembered tomorrow.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: # moments, #amazes, #built, #Choose, #control, #days, #death, #die, #escape, #eugenepeterson, #experiences, #fate, #forms, #friend, #gain, #grace-filled, #greater, #inevitable, #instability, #kind, #lastday, #learned, #learning, #life, #lives, #lose, #loving, #months, #normal, #now, #older, #organize, #path, #perspective, #plan, #political, #predictable, #presentmoment, #quote, #remembered, #resonated, #scholar, #several, #speaking, #spinning, #spirit, #surrounds, #systems, #talking, #today, #tomorrow, #transient, #treasures, #trinkets, #uncertain, #undone, #whole, #writer, #years, Family, Community, Environment, Negative, Pastor, sojourners, Spiritual, World

About Time

May 24

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

On Sunday I was working outside, trimming Lemon grass. It can be tricky working with this plant because of the thin, long leaves which can cause a nasty cut if a person is careless. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as vigilant as needed and received a gash in my pinky finger. Small cuts might not bleed much but they can be quite painful. It didn’t take long to forget about the mishap but ever since, each time I apply soap or antibacterial gel, I’m reminded the cut hasn’t completely healed. It’ll take a few more days before the wound is closed and no longer a painful reminder of my carelessness.

Life’s journey is filled with difficult and hurtful places, events, and seasons. Our recovery from these take time and often we encounter reminders of these painful moments which cause the agony to resurface. Our reliving of these can be disappointing and a cause for despair. We think; “Shouldn’t this wound be healed? Why is there still suffering? Will I ever be fully well, whole again?” In these times it’s important to be patient. Recovery moves at a different pace for everyone. You can’t rush restoration and redemption. “Progress, no matter how slow, is still forward.” –Plato

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: # moments, #agony, #cause, #despair, #difficult, #disappointing, #encounter, #forward, #healed, #hurtful, #journey, #life, #pace, #painful, #patient, #plato, #progress, #recovery, #redemption, #reliving, #reminders, #restoration, #resurface, #seasons, #suffering, #whole, #wound, Events

TheWannabeSaint.com

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

Blog Archives

Catch Me

Sweeping Up

Redeemed

Similar

Perspective

About Time

Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

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

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Catch Me

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Sweeping Up

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Redeemed

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Perspective

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About Time

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Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

Recent Articles

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