We are built to be in community. Amazing things can happen when we gather together. I talked about this with my congregation this morning, but I was reminded of the importance of gathering again at an event for a family gathering tonight. We saw friends we have not hung out with in a long while, and it was good to be with them again. A chance to share a meal with friends and to be together is refreshing for the soul. So when do you gather with others? What do you do? Take a look this week and when and how you gather.

Support the Show.

The opening ceremonies in Paris brought with them an uproar. Some Christians were beyond upset over an artistic rendition on a foot bridge over the Seine that they thought was the Last Supper. They thought France was mocking God. Well, it wasn't the Last Supper but a depiction of Dionysus, the Greek God of wine. It was a party scene and many American Christians were offended.

They called for people to boycot the Olympics and when the power went out they commented that God would not be mocked. I don't think God was mocked and I think we need to think about the lens through which we view the world. Many hold a puritanical belief in America and the French do not.

I wonder if we can let art be art and understand that we all like different types of art and that is okay. So go enjoy the rest of the Olympics and watch athletes compete in the sports they love and celebrate the things that are right and good as nations come together to compete.

Support the Show.

I am going to take a week off. In the almost 18 months of this podcast, I missed the week just after the death of my dad. This time, I am taking a week just to relax and recharge. Americans are notorious for leaving vacation time on the table and working way too hard. Our society applauds busy-ness, but it isn't actually in our best interest.

One of the commandments is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. And we find in the gospels that Jesus takes time to go away from the crowds by himself and takes naps too. Perhaps we need to take breaks too.

Take a break. Catch your breath. Be a human being not a human doing for a bit. And if you feel so inclined, you can always go back and listen to previous episodes. Catch you in couple weeks!

Support the Show.

In the wake of the assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump, we, as a society must stop the violence. We need to change our language and rhetoric. We need to find peaceful ways forward and common ground. Violence is becoming normalized in our society as more people seek to solve things through physical force or shooting people. It has to stop.

Support the Show.

Having watched fireworks this past week, I was drawn to playing Sousa marches. It made me think about music at Christmas and as I listened to a recital tonight, about various types of music and how music can speak in many different ways. Knowing the state of the world, the tensions in the world of politics, the divides in American culture, I wonder what the soundtrack would be. Would it be "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillips Sousa that when heard makes us think of people happily waving flags on the 4th of July and celebrating America, or would the current American soundtrack be more dark and angular? Music can speak in many different ways and at many different times. Listen to the soundtrack of your life this week.

Support the Show.

Last week was the first presidential debate for 2024. To say it was awful is an understatement. President Biden didn't look or sound good. Former President Trump failed to answer questions and offered lies (it has been fact checked). I turned it off after a while because they were talking about golf handicaps and honestly that has no place in this debate. I was frustrated with both men not answering the questions posed. As I look at the election cycle, I am struck by how each of our Presidential nominees treats people. Who they are concerned about and what they try to do to aid the people of the United States. And at the end of the day - we have to have different candidates. We need new energy and new ideas if we are to move forward.

Support the Show.

If you have not seen Disney's Inside Out or its latest release, Inside Out 2, go see it. No spoilers here. The movies are about the emotional growth of Riley. We meet Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Aner in the first movie and more emotions come into play in the second. The team worked with psychologists to be as accurate as possible with how the mind works. It is all pretty amazing. In working with the church I serve, we are looking at Lament. It is anger and sadness turned to prayer. When we lament, as seen repeatedly in the Psalms, we turn to God, make our complaint known, ask for God's help and trust that God will be God, that God loves us and cares for us and God will act. Our society doesn't like to deal with hard emotions, but I think it is important for us to learn how to lament and let faith help us unpack and work through big emotions.

Support the Show.

Watching one of my kids compete in National Dance Competitions this weekend and the other trying out for competitive soccer a week ago, we put a lot of pressure on our kids to win and to be the best. One thing that we like about the Dance Studio we are in as well as the Soccer Club we are part of is that the emphasis isn't on winning, but on doing your best. Have fun, learn, grow, and do your best. Awards, trophies and the like will work themselves out and we love that that is not the focus. Too bad our whole society is caught up in who is the best and we have forgotten to let talent develop and grow. Hope you can find time this week to simply, do your best.

Support the Show.