When helping hurts

 

Do you have people in your life who no matter how much you do for them they are never satisfied and it seems impossible to make them happy?  If so, maybe it’s time to slow your roll and reflect on your actual role -- consider resisting the temptation to swoop in and save the day because strangely enough, doing too much for some people can make matters worse.  

It sounds cynical, but it seems the warning about “biting the hand that feeds you” has some teeth to it since certain people not only neglect to show appreciation, they appear to be resentful after being helped.  Maybe there’s something to the old saying, no good deed goes unpunished.   

It’s interesting how quickly people forget about being supported through a tough time -- it seems like they are ungrateful, even bitter afterwards.  Too often helpers set themselves up for disappointment, yet the reality is, it’s quite possible that these very same people would have mistreated their helpers eventually, perhaps it’s delusional thinking that just because someone is helpful they should be immune to misbehavior.

Some people seem to feel worse about themselves or lose self confidence when anyone does too much for them -- doing good for certain people makes them feel bad about themselves because they doubt their own abilities or competency.  Shielding people from the pain of their consequences or from their struggles too much can handicap them mentally & emotionally which is a hard lesson for people who feel the need to rescue or protect the people they care about most.  

How can helpers find a better balance in their efforts to be supportive without harming those in need or risk being hurt in the process themselves? If someone focuses on the bad they become bitter, if they focus on the good they do for others they might come to expect more than they should, but if helpers focus on their responsibilities and what they are able to do right they might just find satisfaction — maybe this is partially what Jesus had in mind when Jesus said something about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing when helping the needy? 

This fine line between helping and harming those we care about feels like trying to paint a portrait on the surface of a running creek.  When you help people who don’t really want to be helped, when you want better results for them than they want for themselves, or if you want their healing more than they want it, then it becomes unhealthy and it backfires.  

None of us want to feel like we are takers, so being more proactive in expressing our own gratitude to those who help us out in our times of need is vital and certainly we all at one time or another need help.  Recognize, we are responsible to other people but we are not responsible for other people, so assist those who want a hand up not a hand out, the ones who want to become more capable but not to be coddled, support the ones who with the right help can go on to helping others themselves when the time comes.   

Pressure

 

Not that being understood is the goal to pursue in life, but few people will ever understand the pressure of pumping concrete.  It's better to understand than to be understood, so pumpers know what I'm talking about.  How could the typical person wrap their mind around what we do, how could you explain it in a way they could possibly comprehend it and not sound insane?  

Every day has the potential to destroy you in the world of concrete pumping, and not just physically.  From hidden hydraulic leaks to clogged hoses plugged with who knows what and who knows where, from recirculating hot loads while worrying about concrete flashing in your hopper to waiting on a balance/call back truck, from scheduling and rescheduling with contractors who are poor managers of their time and based off of their poor planning who think nothing of wasting your time, from trying to get to the second or third job on time, from dealing with extreme weather conditions, from finding the jobsite in the dark and then finding somewhere to washout and hoping you have enough water, to the actual physical exertion and strain on our bodies, we work under so much pressure it's no mystery why self-harm haunts our industry.  

Who else risks life and limb every time they walk out the front door the way we do?  Pumping can leave you bruised, bloodied, and broken on any given day, you'll learn quickly to respect the high pressure of the hoses long before you recognize the toll the pressure can take on you.  We operate expensive equipment that takes an immense amount of common sense and knowhow to run, and it is far from safe nor is it easy.  Learning to prime out, maintain, clean out, understanding mix designs, while managing the dangers of the job, and how to set up & break down your system efficiently and be effective is no easy task.

The responsibilities, problems, and challenges of pumping are wholistic, involving the entire mind, body, and soul.  It's a daily gamble that we take, hoping and praying that all will go well and we will return home at the end of the day just to hit the bed so we can get up early and work the crazy hours we do, all over again.  

The scars of our fathers

 

I don't post a lot of material on my parents, but today would've been my dad's 86th birthday and it got me to thinking.  My dad was masterful at allowing people see what he wanted them to see in him.  He wanted people to think he was successful and that he was a good person.  He was a personality that loved telling big stories and he thrived on getting attention from his audiences, which is probably why I never acknowledged his passing in 2019 on social media and told very few people of his death.  As petty as it sounds, I simply didn't want any more of his lust for attentions to be fed, even after the grave.  

So why am I talking about him now?  Bear with me.

While my dad erected a fancy facade fabricated on fantasy, portraying himself as a committed family man and an expert on relationships, the the reality was he prone to wander.  Dad was very worried about appearances and did his best to impress his friends and extended family, but the depth of his concern on home front was another story.  

He would go away for months at a time and leave us to fend for ourselves, it was common for him to leave on the road driving his semi for several weeks in a row without returning home or sending any money home, once he was gone for a three month stint.  He would simply park his truck, whenever he felt like it and live his carefree life.  For example he would visit ranches, end up staying there for weeks helping them bring in their herds for brandings or to go to auction.  He did what he wanted when he wanted, and apparently forgot about his family at home.  Once he joined up with a documentary production crew to film wild mustangs in the desert, again while we sat back home with no groceries in the house or money to pay our bills.

It stings to this day, and I can see now that much of the acting out I did in school and the trouble I got into, and my run-ins with the law were a direct result of my father's distance, not being there when I needed him to be, to hear him say that he loved us but then to neglect us. 

In fact, when Tammy and I were getting married, dad was living in California with another woman while he was still married to my mom.  I called and asked him to come to the wedding, and to be my best man.  Why?  I still loved him, nearly idolized him.  He was my childhood hero, he could do no wrong, as a child I chalked up his absenteeism as part of the deal.  I didn't realize the void he would leave, the insecurity, the bitterness, the resentment he was generating in my soul, the scars he was leaving on my heart and soul.

My guess is he never realized his selfish nature or the damage he unintentionally inflicted.  Today there's a popular word for his personality type, a narcissist.  

The scars of my father made me want to be a more conscientious parent, I won't claim to be perfect, but I can claim I tried to be present and purposeful.  My dad missed Christmases, holidays, and major blocks of time with us, I wanted to be different.  Actually he never changed even into his latter years he even neglected to attend our oldest son's wedding.  I'm sure my children and grandchildren will judge me based on how well I lived up to my commitments, I hope not too harshly, and I hope the scars I leave behind will be thinner and smaller than those I have.  

We can hope to be better than our upbringing and we can talk a big talk, but it is our actions that will speak louder than our words.   Why bring up my disappointments with my dad?  There is a cautionary tale in the old song, Cat's in the cradle, hopefully more people will heed its warning, there is no rewind on the clock and the time flies by quicker than we realize.  Our kids deserve to be hugged, loved on, encouraged, uplifted, shaped, guided and developed, and to receive quality time from us, not just when it's convenient for us as parents.  

 

When life feels unfair

 

We rarely pause to think about fairness when life goes well, we assume we deserve/have earned our happiness, yet the moment there’s bad call against our team (I guess since I don’t watch sports), or a loved one receives a discouraging diagnosis, or we feel betrayed, we all say, “that’s not fair!”  Here’s a little secret we don’t like, life isn’t fair.  

When catastrophe strikes, we’d like to place blame somewhere.  Horrible situations worsen if we think we have “done everything right” and we are innocent -- an entitlement mentality only deepens our disappointments and the delusion that we are immune to suffering creates even more misery.   

As these unprovoked troubles develop we struggle with an inescapable sorrow, eventually we face extreme emotional exhaustion from these traumatic experiences.  Solely focused on the problems, stymied and unable to envision any solution, losing hope we ask correctly, “Now what?”

Our downward spiral into despair drains us and we obsess over questions like: “Why” is this happening to me, “What” went wrong, “How” will we get through this?  As a host of other perturbing ideas torment our mind, being overwhelmed, we often neglect to ask “Who” do we turn to?  

Why not turn to God?  Are we mad because He didn’t prevent the problem, is He to blame?

The Bible is filled with passages of people raging at God, complaining about the injustice they were experiencing.  Read Psalm 73 and Job chapter 21 where the age-old criticism is raised, challenging God for allowing the wicked to prosper, enjoying the pleasures of life, while escaping the pain we are suffering from.  Yet Jesus says everyone receives blessings,  “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matt 5:44-45)

God has big shoulders and I don’t think He punishes us for our questions.  If I understand it correctly, Ps 10:1 offers an example for when we have questions that it is appropriate to be vulnerable with God and voice our frustrations, “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” 

Life is unfair, it is very temporary, and death is the great equalizer.  As Job points out, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.  And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20-21)

Is there a way to find comfort when life is unfair and we feel stigmatized?  We know we need a better perspective, but at the time how do we develop spiritual maturity, wisdom, or patience in the midst of the traumatic pain?  Soaking up Scripture, praying, and accepting the comforts of our community are essential.  

……..

https://www.timesnews.net/living/faith/craig-cottongim-here-s-a-little-secret-we-don-t-like-life-isn-t-fair/article_99aaf465-1f22-498f-9c82-0187b092e64e.html

Surprised by what you didn't know about Keto

It’s counterintuitive but true, a high fat diet can help on weight loss, I’ve lost over 50 pounds eating as much as I want, Tammy has lost 45 pounds, and we do not count calories or practice portion control, and most of our calories come from fat.  It’s called the keto diet.  Pictured above is one of our favorite dishes we enjoy at home, Greek flaming cheese, saganaki.  Cheese is very keto!

I go through almost two sticks of butter every week just in my coffee. “Bulletproof coffee” is where you put butter and coconut oil in your coffee, and it sets the tone for the day.  Your body learns to shed fat and burn fat instead of storing fat and burning carbs or sugar.  

Most people think the Keto diet is about losing weight, and they think the diet is relatively new.  Ketogenic, a diet that burns ketone acids from the liver instead of sugars and carbs, was originally designed in 1920 by Dr Wilder at the Mayo clinic to help with epilepsy.  When people fast their seizures typically stop, so the keto diet mimics fasting.

Tammy wanted to start the diet years before I did, I didn’t think I could give up potatoes, pasta, or bread.   I’m glad we began this diet and I intend on staying on it for life. Why you might ask…

We began in March 2023, and since then as I have said I we’ve lost a lot of weight but I didn't start the keto regimen to lose weight, I did it for my mental health.  I had come to terms with my depression and my struggles with suicide and accepted that I would end my life, the struggle was so great and I had tried counseling and several mediations,  none of which helped me.  I felt the only relief would be to end it all.  

Then, I stumbled on a paragraph in a book on the brain that discussed the potential for the keto diet to help with depression and anxiety.  And I gave it a shot.

The keto diet has helped my mental health and it has resulted in greater mental clarity.  I used to experience a lot of brain fog and fatigue, the keto diet has transformed my brain quite a bit.  

In the two years running on being on this diet, my body and brain has changed.  No, there are no silver bullets for depression, and while I have greatly improved I occasionally have setbacks.  I went from considering suicide a few times a day, to then a few times a week, then to even further periods of time.  Overall my mental health is much improved, and I know it’s due to the keto diet, if go off the diet two or three days in a row I’m a wreck.

Beyond weight loss and mental health benefits, I have been surprised to discover how the keto diet changed my metabolism.  For my entire life I have wrestled with hypoglycemia, low blood sugar and extreme blood sugar crashes.  I used to wake up hungry and eat several times a day, never really satiated.   Now, on the keto diet, I go several months without blood sugar issues and while I eat as much food as I want, my appetite has decreased and I typically only eat once a day now.

Another discovery is also the strangest one of keto, I used to have gas all the time, I farted like crazy.  Since we started the keto, I hardly ever have gas.

Bacon wrapped meatloaf 

Stanford university has published studies on the effects of the keto diet indicating it helps with diabetes, mental health, schizophrenia and it might fight cancer and possibly help prevent or treat Alzheimer’s.  The hype is real whenever you hear about the benefits of the keto diet.

Without sounding melodramatic, I truly feel like the keto diet has saved my life. No one will be your health advocate, you have to decide what is best for you and decide if you want to be healthier.  The keto diet requires self-discipline, yet this diet is a proactive lifestyle choice that will improve your overall well-being, physically, mentally, and emotionally and you will experience immense benefits that are extremely rewarding and worthwhile.  So instead of waiting until your habits cause illness and disease have the fortitude and foresight to eat healthier and become healthier, this is a decision and choice that you will not regret.

Here’s a link to an article on the Stanford research:

Stanford keto-diet-mental-illness.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0sEzdVcSbPKX9jDIel7UE7m03Nn8r8SCB0hSFs6BSrlsJyjX55stySjyM_aem_Bm0Yy09P5st5AvjxwiDSpw

Russia inside Ukraine: why historical facts matter

Social media has made a lot of people feel like political science and statesmanship experts, I claim to be neither but I am a lover of history.  I also have an emotional stake in this since my bloodline traces to this region, my ethnicity is 29% Eastern European.   

Here's what we think we know, Russia is the aggressor and unfairly invaded the country of Ukraine three years ago, and since that time America has incrementally backed and supported the Ukrainians with funding and military aid.    

Here's what we don't know, where has the money gone, what benefits have resulted from our US assistance, and what does the future hold or what is the best path forward to resolving this?  Who is the real villain in this, is it Putin, Trump, or Zelensky?  

If that question upsets you or offends you, who is the villain, then your bias has overruled your rational thought and critical thinking abilities.  

Now, why does history matter in this war?  In 1795 Imperial Russia began to rule in Ukraine and from 1917 to around 1990-91 Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, in other words it wasn't Russia but it was under the Russian umbrella.   Ukraine was not an independent country after 1795 and for the greater part of a century and the people we under communism.  

More accurately, when the Russian empire fell in 1917, Ukraine fell into civil war in 1918 and becomes part of the Soviet Union after the Red army invades, somewhere around 1921-22.  Germany invades the Ukraine in WW2 and slaughters around five million Ukrainians and then after WW2 The Soviets reestablish order in the Ukraine.  

The Soviets saved the Ukrainian people twice, in 1921 they suffered from a drought and famine, with a population made up of 90% peasantry they submitted to the demands of Moscow and by 1937 they were well organized began to recover just in time for WW2 to devastate them, offering the Soviets a second chance to save them.  

Ukraine has always been the "bread basket" of that region and yes history judges the Soviets for high taxes and grain quotas.  There are many atrocities that took place from confiscations, restrictions, and uprisings.  Stalin was undoubtably a ruthless dictator who mistreated all of the countries in the region.  

What most of us in the West fail to realize is that after Stalin devastated the Ukrainians, he relocated or emigrated a large Russian population into the Ukraine in 1933.  In other words a huge effort was made and resulted in massive Russification of the region.  About 80% of the elite, educated, and influential Ukrainians were either killed, they killed themselves, or they were deported in the early 1930's.   

The composition and character of the Ukrainians was forcefully altered by Stalin.  This matters today, how?  Ethnically, culturally and civically, the region became for all practical purposes more aligned with Russia.  Ideologically, linguistically, and culturally, many people in the region were essentially Russians.  Right or wrong, you decide, they were converted by the sword so to say.

In 1954 Ukraine celebrated their 300th year, read that again 300th year anniversary of reunification with Russia.  If we think we can grasp the situation of the last 3 years of Putin's invasion without acknowledging the Russian ties and the cultural assimilation of the Ukrainians, then we are foolish and shortsighted.   

For nearly 400 years Ukrainian sovereignty has been under the thumb of Moscow, and today roughly 40% of their people speak Russian as their first language.   If you think that all of Ukraine loves the west, remember throughout the cold war they were the 3rd largest nuclear warhead superpower, and they weren't aiming their missiles at Moscow.  

Here's a piece of forgotten American Ukrainian history that is relevant for today.  In 1991 after the collapse of the USSR, Pres Bush visited Ukraine and begged them to remain part of Russia, he told them it would be suicidal on their part to seek independence from Moscow...   for more perspective, America refused to assist the Ukrainians after the collapse of the USSR until they agreed to our terms on nuclear disarmament.   

So, in summary, the US Ukrainian relationships have not always been stable, the Ukrainians after the collapse of the Soviet Union became a central hub for drug trafficking and organized crime, and a large portion of the people living there are Russophiles.  I have no idea what the solution is to the current crisis, but I have fairly good grasp on what has shaped the region over the last 400 years and what I glean is that the situation is not so cut and dry as we might think.  

Tariffs & deportations: what’s actually the core problem

 Thankfully someone kicked the hornet's nest confronting our views of tariffs and deportation.  Politicising these topics only camouflages their clarity, now it’s time to actually examine our ethical standards. 

Why did much of our manufacturing and agriculture relocate in the first place?  Canadian lumber isn’t straighter than Montana’s.  We don’t buy electronics from overseas because they are higher quality, yesterday it was transistor radios, today it’s big screen TVs.  South American beef or the frozen fish from Vietnam in our grocery store isn’t better than our domestic staples.  

Our imported gadgets, garments, and gym shoes are mostly manufactured in places like China, India, or Sri Lanka by people chained to a factory floor.  We’re enabling what essentially amounts to modern-day slavery; but our conscience is sheltered from our passive dehumanization by an ocean of separation while our insatiable appetite for toys and trinkets perpetuates a practice that is less than rewarding for the workers.

Additionally, we are too important for menial labor or to allow our children to be dishwashers or enter any of the service industries, so for a generation we have basically treated our goodhearted Hispanic neighbors like indentured servants.  We don’t habitually move into Hispanic neighborhoods, we move out when they move in and “white flight” takes place.  We aren’t hiring qualified Hispanic school teachers or police officers by the droves, we aren’t partnering with them in our small businesses, electing them as the Mayor, or having them over for supper either.

The rage over tariffs/deportations is only a symptom, we need to ask ourselves what is at stake and why the uproar now?  Our addiction to material goods and cheap labor that’s beneath us has blinded us and the outcry over tariffs and deporations feels disingenuous, something feels inconsistent within our character considering that what we’ve become accustomed to is now at risk of becoming inconvenient.

Again, our dependence on cheap labor & goods is blinding us while overseas manufacturing facilities function as a buffering agent shielding our conscience -- where has the authentic compassion for our Hispanics, disadvantaged Asians, and the dejected citizens in America’s farmlands & Rust Belt been for the last 40 years?  The sting of tariffs and deportation means higher prices for the consumer but what if instead of freaking out about higher prices we consider the mere possibility of how the American rancher and farmer might thrive and our folks in the Rust Belt might regain their dignity and become productive and prosperous once again if these proposed tariffs and stricter immigration policies are as dangerous as they appear to be.  

Here’s what we’ve perhaps lost sight of: “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.” (Deut 24:14) 

Consumerism is not a Red or Blue issue between the conservatives and progressives -- sadly we are too preoccupied with our own self interests as if tariffs and immigration were simply economic/social issues instead of seeing them for what they are at their core, spiritual conditions of the heart.  More to the point, what if we evaluated our purchasing habits and stopped taking advantage of foreigners, farmers, and factory workers, because that’s exactly what we are guilty of doing independently of whichever administration happens to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Originally published in the Kingsport Times News : https://www.timesnews.net/living/faith/craig-cottongim-its-time-to-examine-our-ethical-standards/article_457e694a-f533-11ef-8eea-d31641a92942.html

 

Recipe for real relationships

 

Tammy and I have been married for nearly four decades, and I believe one of the reasons our marriage is so strong is because we actually enjoy being together.  As elementary as that sounds, enjoying time with your spouse is essential for a strong, healthy, and vibrant relationship -- unfortunately too many couples miss this basic fact.   

Sadly, many couples seem distant and dissatisfied in their marriages.  One of the first questions that comes to my mind when I hear that a couple is struggling or they seem like strangers living separate lives together is how often do they cook together?  There is a powerful pleasurable transformation that relationships benefit from whenever you cook together.  

Yes we enjoy traveling together, going to a show or a host of other "fun and exciting" things couples do, but we also derive a lot of enjoyment in the mundane chores of life.  Like cooking together.  We really like to cook together; I can't recommend this enough to you.  

We like to eat at home since it's healthier and more economical, though we don't mind going out too, but going out to eat oftentimes seems disappointing when we compare the meal out to our own excellent cooking.  I think couples do need to go out on date nights, but there's more bonding that takes place in your own kitchen in my opinion; you learn more about each other and fall deeper in love over the oven than in a restaurant booth, I think.  

You share an equality as you learn together a new recipe and as you choose the menu.  As you share the workload of the prep and actual cooking, you feel closer and again experience an equality.  Cooking together provides an excellent opportunity for drawing closer to each other through more authentic one on one time.  

Tammy and I laugh together, relax, share our day, tell stories, grow closer together and communicate a lot while we are in the kitchen.  I am convinced that cooking together deepens, builds, and reenforces the foundation of your marriage.  And, together you experience the unique sense of satisfaction which accompanies the sense of accomplishment together of a well planed and well prepared tasty meal, together.   

My folks fought all the time and they were always miserable, I can't remember my parents ever cooking together.  I hope the opposite for my children and grandchildren, I hope they can't remember a time when Tammy I weren't cooking together and that they will remember us a happy couple.

If you want other parts of your relationship to sizzle instead of fizzle, I don't know all of the reasons why cooking together strengthens your relationships, but it really is a recipe for better relationships.  As you contemplate cooking together more often, I'll leave you with this, here's a recent meal we cooked together. 

Are we on the brink of an American Revolution?

 

Here's a revelation if you too woke up to the news this morning that those opposing the Trump administration are calling for a Bastille day type French revolution: Hoping a sitting president fails is like force-feeding your pilot NyQuil and quaaludes before the plane takes off.  Passive aggressive attitudes and the negative immature rantings will not move a country forward.  

This is a free country, you don't have to like the president, and everyone is free to voice their opinion.  If you don't like the direction our country is going, come up with a better plan, find positive contributions that improve the situation, be proactive with helpful actions.  

Read more history books, we don't erect statues to cowardly saboteurs for a reason.  Also for your own safety, of a heavily armed population with more firearms than citizens in our country, I feel like the folks supporting the Trump agenda are probably the majority of the ones carrying.   

Unapologetic attempt to address the attitude that ails us

I think a better title would've been "Embrace people with differing points of view" but I still see the value in my editor's choice of wording.  It's hard to get people to open up to our ideas when we closed to their ideas and closed to them.  Before I share the text of the column, below, I think many people feel subjugated and experience too much suppression when it comes to talking, which is an unsuccessful way for us as a society to bridge our differences, and if we continue to alienate ourselves from those we disagree with our results will remain unsatisfactory if we ever want to grow and mature.  Enough of the rant, here is today's religion column original published in the Kingsport Times News:  

Our contemporary quandary about discussing anything remotely controversial without difficulty isn’t healthy, but it obviously isn’t new either.   As Einstein observed, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”

Consider how C.S. Lewis saw this dilemma, “When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.”  Contemplate George Orwell’s similar insight, “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.”  Perhaps Thomas Paine put it best, “He who dares not offend cannot be honest.”

Circumstances may have changed since those great thinkers were around, but sadly today Trump, Fauci, Covid vaccines & Big Pharma, transgenderism, wars in Israel and Ukraine, money, the climate & energy, and a host of other interesting & worthwhile topics are suddenly off limits because they seemingly separate us from those we care about.  Without even being forcefully censored, many of us feel coerced to remain silent for fear of rejection or retaliation.  

I’ve been in echochamber churches before and I’ve experienced shallow friendships where it’s okay to take your ball and go home when things don’t go your way.  Their unwritten creed dictated complete agreement of every doctrine, theological stance, opinion, and divergent views were intolerable, yet I’ve come to appreciate the fact that spiritually mature people go beyond simply tolerating opposing views, they invite people not to acquiesce but to think for themselves and to actually express their views openly.  How else can we grow?

Where am I coming up with these radical ideas?  This extremist position on exchanging ideas with the goal of overall personal improvement comes from Scripture:

Prov 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

    but a wise man listens to advice.”

Prov 18:2, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

    but only in expressing his opinion.”

Prov 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Prov 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron,

    and one man sharpens another.”

Somehow we have corrupted the quality of our relationships by characterizing anyone who contradicts us as combative.  Hogwash.  True friends are vital because they care enough to disagree -- confident people refuse to allow their differences to dissolve their bonds of community.  

Shutting down and devaluing differing points of view lacks integrity, lowers the standard of authentic friendships, corrodes community, and it weakens us intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.  Biblical relationships value debate and dialogue -- just because someone disagrees with you it doesn't mean they have attacked or victimized you nor are they inherently evil.  We gain little by prohibiting differences of opinions and surrounding ourselves with people who only reinforce every opinion we have.  

Courageous relationships are risky -- sharing your thoughts requires vulnerability but mature people know how to disagree with others without feeling the need to demonize them.  It is okay to disagree with or dislike the content of what someone says but it is immature to dislike & distance yourself from them just for what they think. 

The powerful gift of the pencil

Not all pencils are created equal, and now I'm pickier than ever when it comes to my pencil of choice.  Why?  Our youngest son has forever ruined me when it comes to pencils.  

Whenever I write, it helps my creativity and thought process when I first write by hand and then type on my laptop.  I typically hand write my first drafts with paper and pencil.  I've always been a Ticonderoga pencil fan, and as bougie/bougee as it sounds, there's something to be said for the texture and the feel of writing in pencil on Moleskine paper.  I know it sounds geeky, nerdy, weird, but trust me it is true.

Since Klay already knew of my writing preferences and methods, he gifted me with a nice 2025 Moleskine planner and a set of Blackwing pencils.

Blackwing pencils collaborated with Moleskine, and it is pure tactile delight merging the two to write.  After a week or so of writing with the Blackwings, Tammy found they had their own line of pencil sharpeners and she surprised me with one.  I didn't even know about Blackwing a month ago, and now I have their complete set.  

Knowing your family/loved ones well enough to know what gifts to give them is a blessing in itself, like a recent gift our oldest gave us of a birdfeeder with a camera in it -- in our old age Tammy and I love to sit and watch the wild birds eat...  It might be a gift of your favorite beverage, or a gift card to your go-to restaurant, or a simple tee shirt or even a useful tool.  The value in the gift is the joy it brings and significance it holds for the receiver, not the price tag.

Yes, this all sounds a dorky as it can be enjoying pencils and paper and such, but it is the "little things in life" that sometimes make the best gifts.  Tammy is a gift-giver, it is her love language and she has passed this on to our four sons, because of her influence our boys are kind, generous, and thoughtful.  

Do I really have to “go to church…?”

Maybe instead of getting stumped trying to answer the old question, “Do I really have to go to church to be saved, to go to heaven, to be a Christian, etc...?” maybe it’s time congregations ask ourselves what is it about our reputation that turns people away or leads them to believe churches are phony? Sadly, many people skip gathering with a church even though they are curious about matters of faith.    

In other words, perhaps churches need to think about why many people are interested in “the Man upstairs,” these same people who say “Give me Jesus, keep the church...” and as a church we need to think about why are they looking for a hall pass, a loophole, a permission slip, an absence excuse?  What is the source of their contempt or disinterest in Sunday morning worship services?  

Most believers subscribe to the idea that to be considered faithful, church attendance is a responsibility, a duty, an obligation.  None of those categories sound fun, interesting, or exciting.  So maybe, the first reason people evade and avoid the church building is because they assume it will be boring -- once in a while even a broken clock is right, so they might have a point here.     

Another idea is the fact that there are congregations who are more than critical and less than welcoming.  If you don’t fit their mold, you remain on the outside looking in.  These same congregations appear to be on the judgmental side.  

Then there are people who believe worship services are out of touch with the real world and that we are geared towards promoting blind faith, being anti-intellectual, anti-science, and we are more or less a gathering of flat-earthers -- not necessarily mouth-breathers, just irrelevant and uneducated.   After all, didn’t the church blind Galileo?

Then, there’s the opinion that the church is only interested in your money.  The hypocrisy of it all.  

Perhaps these are our consequences when instead of becoming fishers of men, we became keepers of the aquarium.  Maybe those resistors have a point. 

Has the church lost sight of the value of differing viewpoints, backgrounds, and ethnicities?  Paul was clear, the church is one body that is made up of various members who are attached by the Spirit, not by their similarities: “12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (I Cor 12:12-13)

Has the church misunderstood the purpose of gathering together?  Some misuse Hebrews 10 to make the case for gathering on Sunday mornings, but the passage has nothing to do with any day of the week or for that matter a building: “24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  The Greek word for “meet together” isn’t “ecclesia” for church assemblies, it is “episunagoge” which is deeper and more significant than sitting in a pew, it is about an inspirational community-based integrated lifestyle that goes far beyond a Sunday morning worship service. 

So yes, the next time someone asks if they “have to” go to church, yes let’s remember that we are the church and the church isn’t a building, it is the people, people who gather in the name of Jesus to break bread, share scripture, pray together, and nurture and encourage each other.  And, instead of being annoyed or irritated by this age-old question of the necessity of church attendance, be inspired to help restore their trust in the church through authentic friendships, genuine care, and Christian love -- instead of just inviting people to a church building or event, let’s actually be the church.  

Originally published on 1/3/25 in the Kingsport Timesnews click here to see