A Sign Of The Times
As I walked through the small section of Morris Library that is open to the public I saw our iconic bust of Abraham Lincoln with his necessary face mask on.
Campus was quiet and serene as it patiently awaits for the 2020 pandemic to pass over. I saw my old friend, Ed, and he and I commiserated regarding how we have spent our shut in time. We agreed that it is not as hard on us retired people…due to our lives already being much slower than they were at one time.
I have noticed that everyone that I encounter has experienced a transformation…we have been changed! Life is not as simple as we one time believed… We are all re-thinking how we conduct our business.
MJ and I enjoy art shows. We have been art admirers and amateur connoisseurs for well over 20 years. We are accustomed to attending these events in St. Louis, Missouri or on cruises. The last time we attended an art event was on a Caribbean cruise in 2018. Beginning Thursday we will be attending one through the miracle of the internet and the comfort of our home.
I encounter a lot of happy people that appear to be free of the fear of COVID-19 and subsequently have neither face mask nor social distancing or knowledge of the medical fact that the Coronavirus has not taken a holiday… Through the pervasiveness of politics and misleading political rhetoric many have accepted that false premise that the pandemic battle has been fought and the enemy has been vanquished! I learned long ago that leaders, in politics and religion and business, pronounced admonishments of truth that were in reality hidden agendas that benefited them and not me. I recall a manager and a university administrator presenting their perception of departmental conditions As I attentively listened to their counsel I began to understand that the department or the university was failing…because they were failing. All was not lost for me, as long as I did my job and followed the rules of the organization, but in my bosses eyes everything was going down the tubes because they were circling the drain!
I had a minister that felt that virtually everyone in our little church was less than adequate and did not pull their religious weight. As I observed this faith leader over a significant period of time…I determined that the problem was not contained within the congregation…but in the frustrated preacher!
It is possible for a political leader to speak to us from the chaos of their soul and their compelling fear of rejection and defeat. An effective and powerful evaluation tool for determining the veracity of political leaders is their consistency of message. Have you ever heard from someone that you thought was a your friend…only to discover that they had a hidden agenda that served their own needs and had little to do with your wellbeing?
We are raised with a many stories. Those narratives that inspire us to be ‘people who need people,’ as the renown Barbara Streisand sang of, truly does make us ‘the luckiest people in the world!’ As we march forward in our troubled world…let us write our story with love and compassion and the courage to hold up our fallen brother and sister, and mother and father, and son and daughter…
We can choose to live our lives in fear and distrust and conspiracy theory…or we can live in love and forgiveness and the reality of God’s greater gift to the human family…each other!
A New Idea! — The Jazz Man
It a wonderful and temperate day in Carbondale! I am a bit like Goldilocks in that I do not care for the hard bed…or the soft bed…but only the bed that is just right! I laughed when I saw a posting on Facebook of a Golden Retriever who was carrying a long stick in her […]
A Present In The Present to Open
A wonderful Jonathon Brooks Blog!
The more I give thanks I find more and more things to be grateful for. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for my family who are also my friends. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful for the weekends and the weekdays. I am thankful for any and all who have ever shown me an ounce of kindness. I practice the art of giving thanks daily for the large and small stuff this life has to offer. My divorce from pessimism and melancholy was many years ago. It was a difficult divorce, but I’ve never looked back and regretted it.
An attitude of gratitude leads to a joyful life. If you have good friends then be grateful for them because they are not forced or required to be your friend. If you have a job that pays nine dollars per hour then rejoice because you…
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Someone To Care
We enjoyed a wonderful visit with Ron and Ira Kaye yesterday afternoon. Each time that I am with them my spirits lighten and my sense of humor is re-found! We have had the great privilege of visiting with them in; Florida, and New Mexico, and Hawaii. They are the epitome of traveling companions! Whenever we are together, I think of all of the previous reunions that have been so enriching! It was a special treat to enjoy a glass of wine and MJ’s homemade peanut butter cookies…and it reminded me of our fun before the 2020 pandemic.
Two of my good friends have left very kind comments on my recent blogs…and they humbled me and I was honored by their appreciation! I believe that I remember every kind word that has been said to me…through my 62 1/2 years. I have heard it said that what we need today is not more successful people….But more kind people! I know that untold millions of our human family are thirsty and hungry for someone who cares about them. The company or the university that you work for can have a plethora of outstanding programs…but many will never be a part of them if they have not connected with another human being in the organization! Churches can have newsletters and bulletins and zoom meetings…but I may never be a part of the excitement unless I feel that someone wants me and has taken the time to ask me to be a part of the mission.
I wrote in a previous blog that I felt inspired by a Bible School that I attended when I was 8 years old, in Eldorado, Illinois. It was held at the First Christian Church…and I attended alone because I wanted to know God better. A few years ago when I was a member of our church board, called the session in the First Presbyterian Church, I and another elder were part of a confirmation class for a few of our young people. I was paired with a fine young gentleman who loved God and was very serious about his faith. We were tasked with sharing our faith with each other…and his testimony blessed and edified me! There are many young people that are young Timothys and Titus and Mary and Marthas…in our daily life…if someone will invite them to the feast.
I knew and worked with thousands of students during my career at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. The majority of them were looking for someone to connect with and who would be their friend. Many would love to participate in you faith walk…if they were asked…
We are surrounded by lonely people. In our journey back to Jerusalem…it is not about how can I fill my physical church…it is about how many people can I demonstrate the love of Christ…that I have experienced!
When Jesus was crucified it appeared that the church was over and done… The Master…the Rabbi…was dead and had been entombed. When the apostle Peter was singled out by a person as having been with Jesus…he said, ‘I know not the man !’ Thomas exclaimed that he would not believe that Christ had risen from the dead unless he could place his fingers in the nail holes in his hands and thrust his hand into his riven side… The church was not gone…it had been transformed!
What Is The Magic Formula That Brings People To Church? — The Jazz Man
Have yo0u ever thought about a pervasive problem so much that your head hurt? Or have you sought the counsel of experts who provided you with a plan for success that in some ways had no relationship to your institution or demonstrated mission? I recall the organization that I worked my career in, Building Services, […]
via What Is The Magic Formula That Brings People To Church? — The Jazz Man
How Is My Friend?
I began this Tuesday by pressure washing our screened in porch. It is amazing the hidden dirt that high velocity water can reveal. It has been a good spring for pollen…that is if you enjoy pollen! The focused water pressure and the hum of the motor of the machine has a bit of a serene melody…if you do not have to do too much of it. We are enjoying the gift of another day. As I have grown older it has dawned on me that there are no ordinary days. Just being a participant in the game of life is…extraordinary!
As a nation we are struggling with the correct formula of reopening our businesses and childcare facilities and churches. Our flagging restaurant industry and bars are proceeding with innovative ways to keep their staffs and the public that they serve, safe and healthy. The reason that we are struggling so much is because there is no manual on the perfect manner to survive a pandemic. We have no date certain when a vaccine will be created…and we do not know when there will be enough of the vaccine to inoculate all of the human family. There has never been a time that we need each other more than right now!
Photo by ThisIsEngineering on Pexels.com
It has been my habit, for many years, when writing an email to a friend, for me to ask, how is my friend? I enjoy open-ended questions… So many times I have been asked how I am doing…when in reality the inquirer had already decided how I was doing and had developed a plan for me to be better! Have you ever been asked how you were…and then your friend proceeds to speak at some length regarding the vicissitudes of their life…and never mentions anything that you have disclosed to them? Or, when you have lost a loved one and you are standing in the receiving line at the wake, whereupon someone counsels you that your departed family member is in a better place and that you should rejoice that their suffering is now over? Perhaps we find ourselves in a similar circumstance during our 2020 pandemic? Each of us are going through our own sadness and challenge and fear of the unknown future. We seek someone who cares. We hunger for a sounding board…and a centering that only comes through people that love us!
Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels.com
Every African American that has been marginalized and profiled and abused…does not require we white people to explain to them the answer to their profound fear and anguish…their hurt, over generations, and their pain… They need white people to listen…and listen….and listen….and listen… Our black brothers and sisters thirst for white friends who will learn and understand…
The best counselors are the best listeners. If you want to be a friend that is more prized than the precious ‘gold of Ophir,’ that is spoken of in the Bible…listen to what your friend is saying and verbalize your’ heartfelt words with their concerns.
Pastor — The Jazz Man
The weather is changing in Carbondale. Storms are on the horizon and the temperature is supposed to fall. Yesterday I saw the most magnificent duck family and was able to take a few photos. The weather is in a state of unrest…much as our country… The decision is before child care facilities and churches and […]
The Best Seat in the House
A wonderful blog by Jonathon Brooks!
Do you have a favorite room or perhaps a favorite chair in your home? Do you sometimes discover a new favorite place to hang out around your house? I recently discovered a new reading room at my place. It is a wonderful room full of old photographs and collectibles. Years ago it was my grandmother’s bedroom.
In this room there are two golden colored chairs that match. I’ve adopted one of them as my new cool reading spot. The lights in this golden chair room are fantastic. I find it hard to concentrate on paying attention or reading in a dimly lit room. So this is a great room for me and my love of literature.
Take time to appreciate your favorite places or your favorite people or your favorite pastimes. The old saying goes, Live each day like it is your last. This is a pretty good statement. Although…
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‘There Is a Balm in Gilead’
I just came from another wonderful zoom church worship service! Pastor Kerry delivered a lovely message…and I pondered what a pleasant manner of sermon delivery, he has. After I attend Sunday morning church service…I feel at peace. There is a centering effect that the uniting of our church, has on me.
Carbondale has been having peaceful protests regarding the murder of Mr. George Floyd in Minnesota. I again emphasis…peaceful protests… I am not aware of as large of protests, in our town since the latter 1960s. These have been multi-racial protests and many white people walking alongside their African American brothers and Sisters! My good friend, Jamie Sheffer, created a wonderful video of one of the events. It brought tears to my eyes…it was inspiring! As one of the speakers said in the film…’We are one race!’
This morning a member of our choir sang the old hymn, ‘There Is a Balm in Gilead.’
‘There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin sick soul.’
‘Sometimes I feel discouraged,
and think my works in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.’
‘Don’t ever feel discouraged,
for Jesus is your friend,
who, if you ask for knowledge,
Will never fail to lend.’
‘If you can not preach like Peter,
if you can not pray like Paul,
you can tell the love of Jesus,
Who died to save us all.’
The young man who sang this morning…blessed me! Jamie’s documentation of a profound event in our town…captivated my imagination…
We are experiencing the Balm of Gilead…in the midst of our suffering…and it is a good and precious medicine…
Dutch Baby! — The Jazz Man
Saturday has become, Dutch Baby Breakfast at the Brooks Ranch! The Baby is composed of; eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and vanilla. It is baked in the oven @ 425 degrees for 25 minutes…and it is heavenly! I am not a fan of pancakes…but Dutch Baby…is a different story! So, after a lovely breakfast comes a […]
The Happy Traveler 