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How much of a risk taker are you? If your measure of risk taking were calculated on something like a 10-point Richter type scale where would you fall? Would you say that you are on the lower end of risk taking, producing more of a little rumble between 1 to 3 or in the moderate section where your risk taking might cause a definite unsettling quake between 4 and 6? Are you a go all out risk taker, causing an earth shattering and potentially devastating reaction from those around you between 7 and 10?

How are you regarding patience and focus? Are you able to be patient and stay focused on a major life’s goal or dream that you set out to achieve? Has your desire to see a dream or goal completed quickly ever become an obstacle, especially when it comes to persevering through some difficult hardships that you had to fight through? Have you ever been greatly distracted on your way to attaining your dream or goal because it took longer to realize than you thought it should and you did not have enough patience and single-mindedness to stay with it until it was accomplished?

Sunday is All Saints Day. A saint is defined as "a person who is officially recognized by the Christian church as being very holy because of the way he or she lived: a person who is very good, kind, or patient."(Merriam-Webster Dictionary) We may know of someone who exemplifies the qualities of a saint as defined here. However, this definition is not the final word on what a saintly person should be.

When I was in seminary, one of the classes that was mandatory for all masters of divinity students was Christian Moral Theology. While I believe this is a crucial thing to explore and study, at times I got frustrated with the class and how sterilized the "theories" seemed, so far from the realities of actual human beings. I used to tease that watching The Good Place on Netflix (a comedy series originally aired on NBC) and discussing the show with peers should count as an alternative to the class.

Who owns the world we live in? We know that we are stewards of God’s creation. So, if God placed us over it as its caretakers, how do we manage God’s creation when others, who do not recognize God as the owner of all creation, regularly misuse and abuse it? If fellow stewards, who wish to gain power over other stewards by manipulating the words of those who are trying do the best job they can as caretakers, what are we to say or do to counter act their evil schemes?

My favorite Instagram account is one that tells me to stop mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. It is called the Nap Ministry. The Nap Ministry focuses on liberating practices of rest. In a culture of constant moving and shaking, of "work hard, play hard," the Nap Ministry reminds me that I worship a God who rests.

Normally, when people read a story about good and evil they seek to assign blame to those who are the evil characters by pointing out their various evil deeds, words, and even the types of people who are in the group that are described as the bad ones.

Last year, I fell in love with geocaching. Have you ever been geocaching? All over the world, people have hidden tiny containers. These little containers (think film canisters, tiny boxes, and small baggies) usually contain a paper log of everyone who's found the geocache, and sometimes, special treasures. If you download the geocaching app on your phone, it helps you in your quest: providing you with coordinates and clues as you look for these elusive items.

I listen to and read stories as a way to help me understand the world around me. A story that is most useful to me is one that intentionally describes a situation that will open up my mind to a foundational truth that God wants to me to know.

I am interested in seeking ways to show God’s love in deeper and longer lasting ways. As we are awakened to the issues of the emotional and spiritual mechanisms that hinder God’s love from working through us for others, I believe that the radical welcoming of people around us is one of the best ways that we can become consistent sources of God’s love.

Extensive welcoming of people, especially people who are different from us, is one of the highest and most blessed forms of showing genuine acceptance. It also opens doors to connection and hospitality for people in God’s name.

God is love and we are God’s children. And as children of God we seek to pattern our lives according to the main characteristic of the God we love because God loved us first. Nobody will ever love us as deeply, eternally, or in such a purely unconditional manner than God has provided for us throughout our lives. We are continually reaching for ways to be more like God through the model that Jesus showed us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers...

This week my heart aches. My eyes sting with tears. My chest wells with anger. I join the lament of the Psalmist:
“How long, Lord? How long?”
How long will Black lives be treated without regard?
How long will coronavirus cases and deaths rise?
How long will the waters and winds rage?
How long will fires force people to flee?
How long, Lord? How long?