Time to Clean the Pot

"Darryl," I said to one of the morning studio camera operators. "The coffee is GREAT this morning! What did you do differently?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, "I cleaned the pot."

I thought about that long ago "morning-news-moment" yesterday--- as my coffee maker was spitting and steaming, fussing and fuming and taking FOR-EV-ERRR to brew. When it finally finished, my coffee tasted---well, let's just say, it was down the drain with that cup-o-joe. So, I tried my old friend Darryl's approach, and---

I cleaned the pot.

It's amazing how much better coffee tastes when the pot is clean. And, that thought led me to this one: 

What's in the pot of my life---the pot of my mind---the pot of my mouth... that needs to be cleaned?

When we are on the fast-track of life (and who isn't?) it's easy to just 'rinse and go' instead of taking the time to really clean out the pot that brews our thoughts, attitude, actions and words. Before long, we may find that our "pot" is filled with the residue, build up and debris of life's hassles. We may find ourselves acting just like my coffee pot---spitting and steaming, fussing and fuming, and taking FOR-EV-ERRR  to do what we need to do--- the way we need to do it.

Although I like to think my pot is not all that dirty, I admit I've been running so fast lately, I've been in the rinse-and-go mode... and even a little build up can cause thoughts and actions that leave a bad taste. So, today...

Photo: WikiHow

I'm cleaning my pot.

Just like the  variety in the row of cleaners at the supermarket, there are many ways to clean your life's pot. This is what I am going to do---at least for today.



Step 1: I am going to scrub away negative thoughts that have built up in my mind. Just for today- just for the next 24 hours- every time I have a negative thought or reaction, I will write it down on a piece of paper---then cross it out.. 

Just. Like.This.

Step 2: Just for today--just for the next 24 hours--I'll  replace that negative thought or reaction with something positive or constructive. Example: Negative- I don't have enough time. Positive- I have the same 24 hours everybody else in the world has each day. What 10. 15, 20 minutes do have that I spend on "this" that I might shift to spend on "that"? 

Step 3: I'll clean up my words. Trust me... I have one of the most boringly clean mouths around. when it comes to "those" words. But, in general conversation, just for today--just for the next 24 hours-- I'll  replace spitting and steaming (I'm not being literal here, folks) with steadiness and self-control. I'll speak words that encourage, uplift, and unify.

Step 4: Quality in- Quality out. Sometimes, I buy the discount coffee brands. I'm always disappointed. The little  I save isn't worth it, because the quality of what my coffee pot brews is not first rate---no matter how clean the pot. So, just for today-- just for the next 24 hours-- I am going to only feed the pot (my brain) quality material. I started with my scripture and devotional readings this morning. I'm going to be more aware throughout the day of what's on my car radio, my television, and my laptop screen, my conversations.

 

Photo:
Christopher Meder from Fotolia.com

The next 24 hours might be very cleansing. And, to think. It all started with a cup of coffee... brewed in a freshly washed pot.

No April Fool

It's a new day.. a new month.. the beginnings of a new season. What will you do with it?

At the start of the year,I came to a deeper realization that time is precious and should be used accordingly. I resolved to try and do one new thing each day. See:  2013: It's Time

I've been pretty good at keeping that resolution, even if the 'new thing' was something simple. Some days I cooked a new recipe.Some days, I read a book, or story, I'd always wanted to read but had never found the time. I began running again, and some days I  take a new route.--- just because. I met a friend for lunch, when I once would have given into the "I'm just too busy" excuse. I took a few risks with my career choices. Some paid off. Others-- I'm still waiting.  Some days I visited a chapel I'd never been to before. (See my Lenten blog series.) 

One day, I decided I would talk a lot less and listen a lot more. Amazing what you can hear when you do that--- both spoken and unspoken.

But enough about me.

Would you like to consider this day to be a fresh, new start for you? Then, do it. It isn't always easy. Trust me, I know. Really. I do. The first step is usually the hardest.

It begins when you say, "I'm ready." 

I don't know what your new start looks like. Maybe you don't know yet, either. Maybe you want to get a job, quit a job, paint, write, build, plant, create, invent, improve, help... or heal. What I do know is that once the first step is taken, it's easier to take the second, the third, the fourth.. and before you know it, you just may be off and running! 

For centuries, April 1 has been reserved for pranks, jokes and hoaxes. What if you made April 1, 2013 your day to get serious--- about doing whatever it is that has been on your 'to-do' list for so long? 

It's a new day.. a new month.. the beginnings of a new season. Take that first step. And, let me know how it goes.

April 1 is shaping up to be a good day. No foolin'.







.

What's in YOUR hands?

My current stack. Some are perpetual.
As you see by the spines, I read 'em out!

Love this line I just read: "Put the right book in the right hands and you can change the world."

What book is in YOUR hands today?

Chapel A Day- Day 36 (I Went To Jail Today)

I went to jail today.

Wait---don't get carried away. I was there to do something good! I am in the beginning stages of working with a program that is designed to encourage inmates to turn their lives around.

Let me tell you something... it ain't fun hearing those steel doors close and lock behind you. Even when you know you are going to be able to leave whenever you want.

I've had the opportunity to meet some inmates . Most of the ones I've met are quiet and friendly. None have said, "I don't belong here." All the ones I've met have said to me, "I messed up." 

"Guess what?" I want to tell them. "So have I." Not in the way that these inmates have messed up. But,  I've messed up on the job. I've messed up at home. I've messed up in relationships.

In today's chapel moment--- yes, even in a jail you can find a chapel moment---I find that I am so grateful that my Christian faith teaches me that a mess-up doesn't have to last forever. I'm glad that my faith teaches forgiveness and grace. I'm glad that my faith causes me to know that our tomorrows can be so much better than our yesterdays. I'm glad that my faith tells me that if we truly want to change, we can. And, I'm glad that my faith tells me that we don't have to go it alone.

As we draw close to the end of Lent, I appreciate more and more that---Easter's comin'---with its promise of new life. I hope these inmates I've met--and indeed all of us--- will be encouraged to acknowledge and resolve the past--- but to look toward a better future. 

A future where the doors open in front of us--- instead of lock behind us.

My, What Big Teeth You Have!

It's cold, but it's officially spring and the GATORS are beginning to wake up! 

I thought a repeat of this fun photo essay that I shot and edited for a class last spring was worth another run! 

The place is Alligator Alley just off Highway 59 in Summerdale, Alabama. If you're in the neighborhood, you should check them out!

Click the link below to go to the youtube video!  

Gator Tale

Chapel A Day- Day 20 (Seeing God)

On this day, I found myself halfway through the 40 days of Lent. I realized that visiting a different chapel each day--for  40 days--was harder than I had anticipated. That's mostly because few churches are open during the weekdays. So, I do what any former TV news anchor becomes adept at doing... I ad lib. In this case, I revisit chapels and sanctuaries that are special to me..

One of my favorites is this one- the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in downtown Pensacola. Its beauty, its peaceful atmosphere and its history put within my spirit a sense of calm. I truly feel God's presence when I enter this sanctuary. It doesn't matter if it is packed to the balcony with worshipers on a Sunday morning, or if I am the only one here.

God is here, too.

The Lenten season causes us to recall the 40 days that Jesus was in the wilderness...going without food and water...without any human companionship.... being tempted... and tried.

In this mid-point of Lent, I find myself crossing paths with a lot of people who are in that wilderness season of their own life. It's not a happy place, frankly. They describe it with words like: dry, sad, hurtful and lonely.

I've used words for my living more than  half of my life. But, I've been having trouble coming up with words to say in these conversations. So, I turned to the Source for words. What I found gave me renewed hope halfway through this wilderness season. Perhaps they will give you hope, too. You see, while the wilderness can be a lonely, scary place, it can also be the very place where (like the sanctuary at FUMC for me) God comes to meet you. It's happened before.

When she was hurting the most, Hagar saw God in the wilderness. (Gen.16 & 21)

When he was afraid, Jacob saw God in the wilderness. (Gen. 32)

When he was confused and separated from his family, Moses saw God in the wilderness. (Gen. 3)

When he was on a lonely mission, John the Baptist saw God in the wilderness. (Matt 1 & Mark 1)

Is it possible that sometimes... not all the time... but sometimes, we have to be in the stillness of the wilderness to see God? I don't know. I wish I did. Maybe someday I will know the answer to that... maybe we all will.

In the meantime, I take comfort in the last verse about 'the tempation' as recorded in Matthew. Chapter 4, verse 11. When the wilderness experience was over, "angels came and ministered to him."

I'm no angel.. anyone who knows me will tell you that! But, I do hope that some of what I write may 'minister' to you if you are in a wilderness season. Just remember...when you least expect it, God may show up. How cool is that? And also remember that this season is not meant to last forever.

Easter's comin.'

Chapel A Day- Day 19 (Don't Get Your Drawers in an Uproar!)

"Don't get your drawers in an uproar!" 

Mama Hodie circa 1964

I think that's the closest I ever got to hearing my grandmother use salty language. Those seven little words were usually uttered when I was "having a spell" (another one of her favorite sayings) when something wasn't going my way. Mama Hodie had a way of keeping it real, even way back then.

I thought about her during today's chapel visit. The chapel is just a tiny room in Santa Rosa Medical Center in Milton, FL. It's the kind of room where Mama Hodie would be comfortable.. a small chapel in a small hospital, in a small town where people speak plainly and keep it real.

I also thought about Mama Hodie earlier this morning, when I was going through my drawers... ummmm., that's my DRESSER drawers, thank you. They were in a bit of an uproar. About once a week, I go through these drawers---straightening, folding and de-cluttering. Each time, I vow that THIS week.. .the drawers will stay in order!  But, bit by bit, I find myself shoving a rumpled and wrinkled t-shirt into this drawer; stuffing unfolded socks into that drawer; and tossing pajama tops in and out of the other drawer. And, by the end of the week..

...my drawers are in an uproar.

As I sat in the chapel, thinking of Mama Hodie's comment, it occurred to me that it's just that simple for life to get in an uproar. Bit by bit. A little shove here, a little stuff there, a little toss in the other place.. and before we know it...

...life is in an uproar.

The good news is that it doesn't have to stay that way. We can yank the drawers of our life open and begin straightening, folding and de-cluttering. 

For me, that means straightening my life by getting my priorities in line with HIS priorities. First things first. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God..." Matthew 6:33. As I recently read in the devotional book "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young:

 "When MY Presence is your focal point, the pieces of your life will fall into place."

Then, the folding process is simply my means of getting organized. I do it with prayer, study, list making and calendar-accountability. For me, this formula for order leads to more peace in life.. and we can all use more of that, right?

Pray... study... write it down.. keep commitments

The de-cluttering part is a little tougher. Like those comfortable...but filled with holes... socks in my sock drawer, all of us have "stuff" in life that we have trouble releasing. But, we can try.This Lenten season I am trying to let go of the little things that keep me busy but unproductive; with matters that consume my energy without feeding my spirit; and with.situations over which I have no control. Like those socks, they may be familiar and feel weirdly comfortable.. but they don't belong in the drawer. In Luke 10:38-42, we are reminded that 

"few things are needed." 

Like the ones in my dresser, the drawers in my life won't stay clean forever. They will become messy, jumbled and cluttered again.  I'll have to stop what I'm doing and straighten them. But, after today's chapel time, one of my new goals during this Lenten season is to avoid getting my drawers in an uproar!

Mama Hodie would be proud.

Drexel and Mama Hodie 1981