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When Are Tears Good?

3/22/2019

My grandson’s tears provided some relief after his cousin pinched him. To experience even greater relief from pain, experts suggest we read a story about someone else’s suffering. They say emotional stories not only help us heal, they can change our brains for the better for days.
Book critic Kristin Lamb says that when we “vicariously experience our hurts, failures, disappointments, betrayals through another set of eyes, it’s a way of facing our villains in life.”
Besides that, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta discovered that a novel can cause positive brain changes that last for days.
     I don’t recommend any book to achieve this brain-and-emotion cleanse. Some stories are so dark they only validate the brokenness in real life. I look for stories in which the main characters grow through adversity, books that give me hope and humor along life’s highway.
Recently as I’ve sprawled in bed from the pain of a broken foot, I’ve vicariously vanquished evil in a fallen kingdom, sailed to the end of the Earth, and cheered as a mouldering relationship sparked into life again. As Lamb says, these stories have shown me “it is possible to come through the fire not only healed, but stronger and better.”
  So grab a good read. Together we can experience a catharsis as we let our feelings flow and our pain go.
Because healing tears are good.

What's the Worst Pain You Can Endure?

3/14/2019

A friend asked me what I’m learning these weeks as I hobble around with a broken foot because of a silly fall. Here’s one thing - the answer to a question that may surprise you: What is the worst pain you can endure?
Your own pain.
Some well meaning folks have reminded me that my malady “could be worse,” and I know they’re correct. But this is MY trial that I have to deal with RIGHT NOW.
Many of you have it much harder than I do. Some have chronic pain. Some have debilitating trauma. But no one’s affliction should be compared to another’s, nor should it be dismissed.
So to all of you out there who have physical or emotional suffering, I acknowledge that your stress is big and real and not fun at all. It’s what’s hobbling your life - even if it “could be worse.”
For those of us who are cut down physically or emotionally, we don’t want this to be the sum of our identity. We may be like a broken down pickup now, but we’re working hard to get our parts fixed so we can hit the road again.
We want to keep on truckin’ down life’s highway.

Got a Cop in Your Mirror?

3/7/2019

It didn’t take a cop in my side mirror to stop me in my tracks recently. It was a broken foot from a silly fall. Now as I lug around a cumbersome boot for six weeks, I can get pretty whiney. But I’ve discovered something that lifts me out of the dumps. And it’s all the more appropriate I practice it because the Spaniard Ignatius developed this technique nearly five hundred years ago after recovering from a leg wound.
     Here’s my adaptation of his Daily Examen. Several times a day, usually when rising and retiring, I consciously:
     ~REST in God’s PRESENCE - “You’re always with me. I’m never alone.”
     ~REJOICE in God’s PROVISION - “Thank you for a good night’s rest, for breaths of air.…”
     ~REFLECT on any emotional PAIN - “What’s bugging me here?”
     ~REACH for God’s PERSPECTIVE - “God, why am I bent out of shape about this? What can I do about it?”
     ~REVIEW my PLANS - “You always go ahead of me. Today, I intend to .… Is this aligned with your purposes?”
This is a great way to travel through my day, and helps me remember that true spirituality occurs not when I find a cop in my side mirror telling me what I’m doing wrong. It’s when I’m traveling along life’s highway with a personal guide at my side, the God-Man Jesus.
    Here's a song with lyrics that describes this journey.

My red badge of courage.

What Forced Me to Slow Down

2/28/2019

I wish I could report that I broke my foot in a skiing accident. But no, I was making my bed, tripped on covers on the floor, and went splat! So humiliating.
     Now for six weeks I’m modeling the Big Foot Fashion Look, wearing this cumbersome boot 24/7, and moving as slow as a slug.
     Sometimes as I lie in bed, I yell out “BORING!” because I’m not fond of inactivity. Then I get over my whining and remember others have it much worse than I do - and sometimes for a lifetime. So I’m taking this opportunity to retreat in order to be recharged. To listen more to God and others, and less to the voices in my head. To gain new perspective.
     Honestly, I’ve longed for a break like this, but just couldn’t force myself off my daily treadmill.
     So I’m on a forty-day intermission from regular life. Others have been transformed during forty-day hiatuses more severe than this: Noah floating in an ark during forty days of rain; Moses camping out for forty days on Mount Sinai; Jesus wrestling for forty days in the wilderness.
     I’m not comparing myself to those giants. I live a simple life in one of the world's backyards. But I’m still raising my antennae heavenward to receive whatever there is for me to learn during this time.
  Because none of us are Energizer Bunnies. We all need recharging.

Do You Hear Voices?

2/21/2019

That’s me standing next to all 6’11” of Ervin Johnson at a volunteer gig where he kept us hustling as we sacked food for kids. Some people claim you’re loony if you listen to “voices," but not Ervin. He didn’t play basketball in high school. Then while working at a Baton Rouge supermarket for nearly three years after graduating, something strange happened - he grew eight inches. One day at work he heard a voice: “Go. Back. To. School.”
     Ervin says, “I looked around, and no one was there.”
     He learned that the University of New Orleans basketball team needed some height, so he approached the coach. That meeting “was a divine appointment because it was the last day he could sign players.” The coach awarded him a scholarship, but warned that Ervin had a lot of catching up to do.
     Ervin hit the gym at 6 a.m. to learn the game. Hard work paid off, and eventually he led the Privateers to three conference championships and two NCAA tournament appearances. After that, he played center for NBA teams in Seattle, Denver, Milwaukee, and Minnesota.
     He sensed that after he retired professionally he’d have another calling. “God showed me this in a dream; I was standing in front of kids and talking.” And that’s what has happened. He’s a Denver Nuggets Community Ambassador and coaches the EJ Hoops Basketball Club. “It’s more than just basketball,” Ervin says. “It’s about life lessons.”
     So perhaps we’d better pay attention when we get "nudges." The Master Coach may be handing out directions.

Croutons...
Chew on these seasoned bits of life for a little hope and humor along your highway.

JOIN ME ~ I’ll send brief, occasional posts to lighten your backpack. We're on this journey together.

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