Desiderata

In putting up all our pictures and paintings in this move, we stumbled across a framed copy of the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann.  We have no idea how we came to own a copy of this poem.  Neither of us can remember having it before, and neither of us will claim to be the original owner.

Despite the mystery surrounding its origin, it has spoken to our souls in this time.  We now have it in a place of quiet reflection.  A carved out space for quiet times, meditation, and rest. 

Originally written by Max Ehrmann in 1927, it became a widely distributed poster in the 1960s and 1970s.  Our copy is likely one of these and it carries an inscription "Found in Old Saint Paul's Church, Dated 1692."  This label has caused a bit of confusion.  In 1959 or 1960, the rector of Saint Paul's Church included the poem in a compilation of devotional materials for the congregation.  It carried the date of the foundation of the church, not the date of the writing of the poem.

Regardless, it has spoken a bit of wisdom to us in these uncertain times and I pray it does the same for you.  Emphasis is mine where added.

"Go placidly amid the noise & haste, & remember, what peace there may be in silence.  As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.  Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story.  Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.  If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter; for always there will be greater & lesser persons than yourself.  Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.  Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.  Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.  But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.  Be yourself.  Especially, do not feign affection.  Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.  Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.  Nature strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.  But do not distress yourself with imaginings.  Many fears are born of fatigue & loneliness.  Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.  You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars; you have a right to be here.  And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.  Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors & aspirations, in the noisy confusion fo life keep peace with your soul.  With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.  Be careful.  Strive to be happy."

Max Ehrmann, 1927

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

To the best Mom and Granna anyone could ask for.

I wish we could be together today and cannot wait until we can all be there.

We love you, we miss you, we are thinking of you, always!

Thomas T Brooks

I've often thought there are two types of people in this world, and you can tell them by the way they respond to one particular situation.  When faced with a shortage of room at the table, there are those that build bigger fences and keep their table small, and there are those that build bigger tables.  Those with a mantra of "the more the merrier."  That are always welcoming, always inviting.

Always inclusive.

It's my goal to be the latter.  To be inclusive.  To be welcoming.  To make people feel it.

And I learned that especially from Thomas T Brooks.  PawPaw Brooks.

His circle of friends was ever expanding.  Ever changing and growing for the better.  If he met you and talked to you, you were in.  If he visited your church, you were invited to the fish fry.  

Those are the great memories.  The reunions.  The large gatherings of family and friends.  The fish frys.  The turkey frys.  Mexican Train.  Hand 'n foot.  Washers. Horseshoes.  Fishing.  Traveling in the RV.

Always on the go.  Always meeting new people, making new friends.  

And he didn't really slow down much, even right up here to the end.  Still driving into his mid-90s.  42 at the church.  Breakfast here.  Dinner there.

His personality is going to be missed, for sure.  His warmth, his welcoming.  His stories.  I know he's having a great reunion now.  Granny Brooks.  Zach.  His brothers and his family.  All those friends and neighbors that have gone on before.  What a fish fry they are having.

He leaves big shoes for the rest of us in the family to fill.  I pray we can be as warm and inviting.  As inclusive. And as celebratory of life.  

It's hard in this time when gatherings are limited, when travel is difficult.  Just being so far away.  I look forward to when we can have a great, big fish fry in memorial.  

I can't think of a better way to honor him.

Rest in Peace, PawPaw Brooks.  You've earned it.

Opinions - A Reminder

I'm convinced the four most dangerous words in America are "It's just my opinion."

In prior ages, when this phrase was uttered, it was said with a complete understanding of where opinions rank in the grand scheme of things.  It was considered an "humble" opinion for a reason.  They were regulated to Editorial or Opinion sections of the newspaper.  Especially because it was recognized that opinions could and very potentially would be changed.

In society now, opinions are treated as immutable, unchangeable statements of identity.  They are often most loudly and proudly proclaimed when they are in defiance of all other available information.

It's what makes the scene in Inside Out funny.  Where Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong are on the Train of Thought and get facts and opinions mixed up, quite literally.

Joy: Oh no! These facts and opinions look so similar!
Bing Bong: Don't worry about it.  Happens all the time.

I blame the invention of 24-hour news stations.  Put simply, true news is consisted of facts, verifiable facts, and just the facts.  And the truth about news is that if 24-hour "news" stations only reported news, they would run out of content very early in the day.  To fill time and to provide something that is entertaining and a ratings draw (and therefore a sponsor's dream), such stations fill their days with opinions.  What should be correctly labeled as Editorials.

Let's take a popular context.   If Congress passes a bill, the only thing that is truly news is that the exact words "Congress passed a bill named ...".  Whether the bill is good for the country, whether it has terrible consequences for a certain segment, whether or not you should support your Congressmen for his vote - these are all opinions, not facts.

The constant stream of opinion and the passing of opinion as fact has led us as a society to have a terrible relation with opinions and the truth.  To put it as I have seen written elsewhere, a diet 24-hour news has led to a truth decay in our society.  And lets be honest, all of the 24-hour news channels have contributed to this.  There is not a single one that has truly benefited our understanding as a whole, not even the one that is "fair and balanced."  If you believe this is only a problem for one network or the other, or that there is a major news station that is truly telling only pertinent facts without editorial, you might as well stop reading now and we can talk about a bridge in Arizona I have to sell you.

Our problem is now compounded through the rise of Facebook and "like culture."  The need to create and cultivate our pages where we control the information and surround ourselves by people who affirm our opinions.  That psychological need to see the number of likes we are receiving and to watch that number grow.  It's a constant validation of our opinion and those like us.  Electronic echo chambers, that can continually suck us in.

This has led us to a culture where opinion is king.  To the point of being actually combative to facts.  To the recognition of "alternate facts" (as opposed to outright lies).  "We are creating a world of dummies.  Angry dummies who feel they have the right, the authority and the need not only to comment on everything, but to make sure their voice is heard above the rest and to drag down any opposing views through personal attacks, loud repetition and confrontation."  (Anti-Intellectualism and the Dumbing Down of America).

In light of where we are at as a society, there are a few important things we need to remember about opinions

1) Opinions can be wrong - 
There's the old joke about opinions and how they are similar to a body part.  We all have one and they all stink.  Now while there can be good opinions, it is generally viewed that it is impossible to have a bad opinion or for an opinion to be wrong.  This is not true. You can certainly have a bad opinion.   Your opinion can be wrong.

In this day an age, if you believe the world is flat, your opinion is wrong.  Flat wrong.  It can be easily disproved and there is no rational reason to hold that opinion.  It is in direct contradiction to all available information and facts.  It's a bad opinion.

Additionally, if you have a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic, etc. opinion falling into the "all X are ..." camp, your opinion is bad.  If you think that white people are inherently better than black people, brown people, or anyone else, your opinion is wrong.  Or Kanye, if you think that "slavery was a choice" for the African Americans involved, your opinion is wrong.

Opinions can even be wrong in art, where most everything is subjective.  To clarify, an opinion whether a particular piece of art is "good" or "bad" can be wrong, but an opinion on whether you enjoyed a particular piece can not.  "Good" or "bad" can involve identifiable metrics.  Technique, style, composition, form.  There are facts there that can be measured.  Personal enjoyment is just that, personal.  It can only belong to you, whether you enjoy something or not.  So be careful in your movie reviews.

We have to recognize bad opinions and to be able to call people out when they try to hide behind them.  "It's just my opinion" should not cut it anymore.

2) Not all opinions are created equal -
There are levels opinion.  An unsupported opinion is worth less than an informed opinion.  Informed opinions are based on facts, they are based on truths.  Those facts are gathered and synthesized to create the opinion.  Opinions that have no basis in the facts are inherently suspect.  Again, if it is your opinion that the earth is flat, though you have never left your hometown, have not studied the issue, and are only relaying what you observe when you look at the horizon, your opinion is worth less than someone who has flown all around the Earth.

We recognize this with professionals.  There is a reason a doctor's diagnosis is referred to as his or her "professional opinion."   After all, what a doctor does is collect the facts (the symptoms you are relaying and the measurements obtained from tests and lab work in the office) and come to an opinion on the most likely diagnosis.  We recognize that a doctor's opinion is worth more than the average person's on medical issues.  And we afford them that amount of trust.

Or at least we used to.

Our anti-intellectualism is also expressing itself in a demonization of the expert.  We no longer want the person who has the most facts, the most knowledge, the most expertise on the subject because they will be the ones most likely to tell us something we disagree with.  Something that runs counter to our personal biases.  We instead look for someone that just confirms what we already believe.  Confirmation bias.  It's how we get our news.  It's how we share information on social media.  And it's how we are sifting through expert opinion in this time of crisis.

We have to get back to listening to experts.  To appreciating those with more knowledge on the subject.

This also holds true in most every other form of opinion as well, unless it is truly personal preference.  You will likely encounter people who possess more information and knowledge than you do about a particular subject.  Their opinions should have weight.  They are not always right and do not always have to be followed or agreed with, but they should be given space to be heard, absorbed, and considered.

Which brings me to ...

3) Opinions should be constantly evaluated to see if they need be changed -
Opinions are designed to be changed.  Again, the old joke about politicians and diapers seems to fit here as well.  They should be changed and often for the same reason.

Our opinions are designed to be impacted by the information we surround ourselves well.  If you are only ingesting information that affirms your current opinions, that is called stagnation.  It's the opposite of growth.  We are designed as people to be challenged by new ideas, by new data points, new information, and then grow from it.

Our true beliefs, true opinions only gel when they have been tested.  "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17).  The two only sharpen each other when they meet in conflict - blades don't sharpen each other when they are pointed in the same direction.  They have to meet at an angle, from a different perspective, to challenge each other.  To firm up what you truly believe and to change what you do not.  To cut away that which is no longer needed.

If you are only getting your news or information from one source, please start branching out and getting information from a wide net.  I've circulated this infographic before, but it provides a breakdown of news organizations by particular bias.   This page also provides a detailed breakdown of how the original designer came up with the chart and the datapoints that went into it.

At the very least, please recognize the particular bias that your information sources have and start identifying when you are getting facts and when the news personality goes into opinion.

If your circle of friends agree on everything and are all alike, expand and add new friends to your circle.  We need people in our lives that challenge us.  That disagree with us in certain areas, so that we can challenge our own ideas and continue to develop them.  Democrats need Republicans and vice versa.  Calvinists need Arminians and vice versa.  Longhorns need Aggies.

We have to do something now.  We can combat this and we can start to value the truth and facts again.  We just need work at it and keep working.

Just my humble opinion.

Plandemic Problem

I've seen a lot of people sharing or attempting to share a video entitled Plandemic.  The video, a 26 minute preview for their upcoming feature documentary, purports to reveal the truth about the Covid-19 pandemic, from the point of view of a suppressed scientist, Judy Mikovits.  I won't link to it here, because I refuse to spread dubious information.

The video is clearly conspiracy theory fodder.  It paints Judy Mikovits as a hero who has been jailed and silenced for her opposition to a global conspiracy of Big Pharma, national governments, and health organizations.  She is supposedly now able to speak because the five year ban has been lifted.  And she would have us believe that Covid-19 has been planned, it has been released to profit Big Pharma particularly through a yet undeveloped vaccine, and that governments, the World Health Organization, Dr. Fauci, etc., etc., etc. are all implicated.  And of course, it's been going on for years.

She goes on to add beliefs that autism is connected to viruses, to vaccines, and could be cured.  That chronic fatigue syndrome is caused by a virus.  That getting the flu vaccine make you more susceptible to Covid-19.  That our immune systems will crater because of stay in place orders (even after just a couple of weeks).  That there are healing microbes in the beach.

IT'S JUNK SCIENCE.

IT'S CONSPIRACY THEORY.

IT'S FALSE.

A quick google search on Mikovits would reveal that her one study was discredited because no one else could replicate her results.  That is how actual science works - through peer review and confirmation.  She was arrested and jailed for theft from her laboratory, though she would claim her innocence and that it was planted as part of the coverup.

I get it, conspiracy theories are appealing because they bring order to chaos.  They make things sound appealing because it provides a reason why everything is happening.  Even though it is a frightening reason when you consider the possibilities and implications, it still provides a reason compared to our reality where reasons are hard to find.

If you take just one minute to think through the implications, it all falls apart.

Let's put aside the profit angle that this video has.  I mean, it is a preview designed to get people to buy an upcoming documentary on the subject.  It's really trying to sell you on watching.  To scare you into watching, so that you know the "truth."

Just looking at the conspiracy claimed, it's too unbelievable.  Too outlandish.  It claims a global conspiracy - cross governmental, worldwide conspiracy and coverup.  Remember, we are not the only country that is reacting in this manner to this virus.  Lockdowns and stay in place orders are occurring on every continent across the globe.  Why would governments that are politically opposed to our government act in the same fashion, under the same conspiracy?  If this was really occurring, surely there would be countries that would be acting in opposition, right?  I mean, Dr. Fauci couldn't influence Iran?  Russia?  China?  You mean to have me believe everyone is united in this, when they can't be united anywhere else?  And no one else is going to leak it?

Occam's Razor most often wins out.  The simplest answer is usually the right one. What's more likely - all governments acting together under some great Big Pharma conspiracy?  Or all governments not knowing what to do and reacting how they see best given the information they have, looking at other countries for example?  It's scary to think that everyone is just doing their best to adjust and deal with something they were not prepared for, but that's most likely the truest answer.

Conspiracy relies on pointing to topics where we should have a healthy skepticism and stretches that beyond credibility.  Videos like this work, they make you start to accept even their outlandish claims, because they make you latch on to about 20% of the information in them that posits genuine questions.

It's one thing to question.  We should be cautious about the eventual vaccine.*  We need to make sure that it has been thoroughly tested and that its potential side effects are well known before administering it to a population.  That does not equate with believing that any vaccine will be some sort of control mechanism.   Nor does it make all of their other statements in the video true.

Please, please, please, think through these.  Look at them critically.  There will always be people who try to convince you that someone is out to get you.  One of the most disastrous trends in American society is this belief that experts are out to get us.  A distrust of intellectualism.  These people are not on your side.  The will continue to stoke fear, for their own gain, to divide us further, to make us reliant on them.

We can do better.

* Side note - What really bugs me about their vaccine skepticism is that they don't have any internal consistency in their argument.  They would have us distrust any vaccine, because the people that are making it are bad, but we should jump on hydroxychloroquine because of anecdotal evidence and it needs no further testing.

A Question About Masks

I have a question about face masks, face coverings that I am generally curious about, especially given some of the response to them that I have seen online.

If we could open up everything tomorrow, almost completely like normal, but the requirement was that it would be required to wear a face mask for the next 30 days, to the point of it being a fineable offense, would you wear it?  Or would you protest such a law?

Does it matter if it is a state or a federal law?

I'm really curious as to where the fight against this is coming from.  Yesterday I saw a summarization on social media that I felt too close to home.  It posited that we as Americans have moved beyond an understanding of freedom as an underpinning of society required to make government work, to essentially viewing it as "you can't tell me what to do."

And from some of the other discussion that I am seeing, that seems eerily accurate.  Even when we act against our own best interest.

I understand concerns over government overreach, but I fail to see how requiring the wearing of a face cover for a limited time during a pandemic fits that description.  It would seem to be the definition of good governance.  Like requiring seatbelts while driving.

Likewise, I've read a lot of constitutional arguments online, and it is genuinely surprising to see how many Constitutional scholars that we have.  I've yet to see one that actually discusses Constitutional law as it really exists.  And I've yet to see what right the requirement to wear a mask would impinge.

I know that we fumbled the execution on this terribly.  We started far too late, we have communicated mixed messages on the subject, we have done a horrible job at stamping out false narratives like Covid being lab created.  And there has been mixed messaging on the mask issue.  Done with good reason, to prevent the hoarding of N95 masks when the general public does not need them, when a cloth face covering will suffice for most purposes, but confusing nonetheless.

The amount of people that bristle at this just surprise me.  Just as the number of people who are convinced a future vaccine is some sort of conspiracy surprise me.

These same people would not hesitate to put on protective gear, like gloves and a mask, if they entered an ICU room to visit a loved one who was immunocompromised.

And yet, when the world is essentially immunocompromised, such precaution is seen as overreach, overreacting, and being fearful.

I'm reposting an image so that it is taken in the spirit in which it was originally offered.  And to serve as a reminder - WEARING A MASK IS NOT ABOUT YOU.   It is about showing care and concern for the world around you.  It is about making sure that we reduce transmission levels to as small a percentage as possible to move past this virus.  It's not forever, it's temporary, even though it may go on longer than you like.

This is especially important for the Church.  It is especially important for us to show our care, our love for the world around us.  During this difficult time, we should be doing all we can to make sure the church is not a source of continuing the spread of this virus.  Wearing a mask is a big part of that. 

It is quite literally the least we can do.

So, I ask again, will you wear one?

I'm of the belief it should be required for the next interim period, but I know it won't be at the necessary scale.  So, without it being required, without it being forced, will you wear one to show the rest of the world how much you care about them?  Not about how you look, not about your preferences, not about the comfort of the mask, but because you care about those around you.

Cinco de Mayo

Today is the fifth of May.  A day marked on the calendar for a Mexican holiday to commemorate the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862.  The victory of the smaller Mexican army over the larger French army was a boost in morale for Mexico.

The holiday has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, and has spread to the greater United States.  It is virtually ignored in Mexico - it is not a statutory holiday, though the schools are closed.  It is an official holiday in the Mexican state of Puebla and the neighboring state of Veracruz.

In the United States, it has largely become a celebration of Mexican food and alcohol.  In fact, in 2013, more beer was purchased for Cinco De Mayo than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick's Day.

It should be a celebration of Mexican culture.  It should be an opportunity to learn about the history, heritage, and culture of our neighbors to the south.  To see how intertwined our histories and destinies are.  To celebrate the music, the art, the food, the dance, and the style of Mexico.  There have been proposals to this end, including a resolution from Congress dating back to 2005.

Hopefully, we will make that official soon.

We are celebrating with Tex Mex tonight (missing home a little bit) and with film about Mexican culture.  Trying to teach Avalyn a bit about Mexico, though she will not really study it until October/November. Her country this month is India.

We also have another reason to celebrate today.  Today, we celebrate Mom and Dad's 41st anniversary.  May 5, 1979.  We wish we could be there to celebrate with them, and look forward to being there in a month.  We hope they have a wonderful day today!

Hard to believe it's almost been a year since this photo!

So, however you are celebrating - Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

May the 4th Be With You

A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away. . . .

If you traveled back 43 years, little could anyone imagine how big Star Wars would become.  At that time, Star Wars was just a movie that was set to premier 20 days later.  Given the recent performance of sci-fi at the time, it wasn't expected to have much of an impact.

And yet, here we are, with Star Wars a global phenomenon.  A multi-billion dollar, multi-media franchise.  Star Wars land, aka Galaxy's Edge, has finally opened.  Jediism is even a registered and recognized religion.

We've celebrated this weekend by watching through the Skywalker Saga, Episodes 1-8, in preparation of Episode 9, Rise of Skywalker, joining Disney+ today.  Tonight, we'll cap off the saga.

Yes, the movies can be clunky, they can be corny, they don't always work that well.  But there is still a magic in them.  Particularly in the original trilogy.  Lucas stayed so close to the mono-myth, to Campbell's Hero's Journey, that he created a new mythology that still resonates today.

We still connect to hope.  We still want to see good triumph over evil.  To see the evil Empire fall.  We like seeing Nazis lose, even if it's space Nazis.

Plus, the story, the world is so big, there is room for all kinds of storytelling, witnessed recently by the success of the Mandalorian.  Since we've recently viewed a lot of Akira Kurosawa, we could see his influences on Star Wars.  The touches from Hidden Fortress, from Yojimbo.  We talked about how we now want to see Seven Samurai in Star Wars or what Throne of Blood looks like.  What Casablanca looks like in Star Wars.  A more James Bond inspired Agent of the Empire.  You can tell almost any war story, any samurai story, any western in the world Lucas created.

If you are looking for ways to celebrate, for the best content, may I suggest the Original Trilogy, the Clone Wars television show (particularly the later seasons), The Mandalorian, and Rogue One and Solo of the newer material.

Enjoy the day.  Remember, there is hope, even when the world looks its darkest.  Look for good to win out in the end.

And of course, may the Force be with you, always.

Or, for my more orthodox Jedi,

May the Force be with you.
And also with you.

Aliens?

Just when you thought 2020 couldn't get any stranger, the Pentagon goes and releases UFO tapes.

Seriously.

I mean, I've liked to believe that there is life out there somewhere.  If not, it would seem like such a waste of such a vast creation.

I would also hope that if there is another creation out there somewhere, that they would have done much better than us.  That they could have avoided the temptations and struggles that we fell so prey to.

But with all that has happened this year, it seems like such a strange turn of events.  I know better than to ask "what next," but it seems pretty inevitable, you know?

I mean, it's been a crazy year, who knows where we go from here.

Maybe, just hopefully, it will be something more light like this.

Essential Church

In moving, one of the things we were most looking forward to was finding a good church home and getting involved.  To us, it represented one of the quickest ways to start finding friends up here in Indiana.  It was a way to meet people our age, in a similar life situation and get to know them. It was a place our kids would meet other kids their age and see who they might be going to school with.  I suspect for many, beyond the theological strengthening and encouragement, this social aspect is one of the great draws to joining a local body.

Of course, no one expects a global pandemic.  It has certainly prevented us from physically attending local services and meeting everyone like we had hoped.

And yet, in many ways, we feel more connected to our churches than before.

Every Sunday, now, we are watching two services and participating in a host of activities throughout the week.  We watch the service from Wills Point where we had been attending in Texas, keeping in touch with our church family there.  And we have found the church that we will be joining here in Brownsburg and are participating in their services and in their "welcome" meetings.

Finding a church in Brownsburg was surprisingly easy for us.  We chose a church based on their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  How they were distributing PPE, food, and other necessities.  How they had actually increased their connection with their congregants by offering additional prayer services, worship hours, and devotionals online.  Admittedly, with their existing online presence, they were probably better prepared than most to make the transition, but they still made the most of it, making sure their people still felt like they could be connected to the church and connected to service.

Stonepoint in Wills Point did the same, adding a Family Game night, a morning prayer time, a morning song service, etc.

Where others saw an insurmountable obstacle, they found an opportunity to extend their reach.

And I would expect many others are finding churches in the same way - based on their response to this crisis.  I think we could see a great revival coming out of this time, all dependent on how the church acts now.

Here's why:

Google searches on prayer skyrocketed in March 2020.

The Bible publishing industry is seeing a Coronavirus boom.

Church attendance, though virtually, is up.

To the point of overwhelming servers.

There are people out there seeking for answers, seeking comfort, seeking hope.  This shouldn't be surprising; it happens in times of national crisis.  We saw it after 9/11, for example.

What matters is what we do now.

Will this be an opportunity to proclaim truth, to spread hope, and to show mercy?  Or will it be a breeding ground for division?

For example, is your church using this time to do all it can to reach the people around it?  Has it adapted and put out video messages on social media and other platforms?  Is it sending out words of comfort via email or snail mail?  Is it continuing to be active in meeting the needs of the community?  If it has a kitchen, is it cooking and sending out meals to those that need it?  Is it showing that it cares for the population around it by following social distancing guidelines?

Is it like the church in New Jersey that launched a nation wide local grocery delivery service?

Is it like the church in Alabama that is administering Covid-19 tests?

Or, instead, has it flaunted social distancing guidelines and held in person services anyways?  Has it complained about the government infringing on its rights?  Has it refused to learn new technology?  Has it simply been inactive during this time?

We've started talking about everything in this time as either essential or non-essential.  Here's the hard question during this time - is your church essential to your community?  Or has it become non-essential?

If your church disappeared tomorrow, would anyone miss it, beyond the people who show up on Sundays?

Would anyone even notice it was gone?

“Here is the reality: In North America, Church has been considered ‘non-essential’ for quite some time, whether we’re willing to admit it or not. Even in the ‘Bible Belt,’ trends are not just moving post-Christian, they are post-Christian.”

I would propose that the churches that will grow from this, the churches that will see revival are the ones that have remained essential to their communities.  Essential to the lives of those people that are around them, whether they are members or not.

They are the ones that have gone through great changes in this time to make sure they are still reaching and comforting those around them.

And it's those changes that we will need to keep when things get back to "normal," whatever that looks like.  I hope Stonepoint keeps the family game night, perhaps now virtually and on campus (or even just virutally.  I hope Connection Pointe keeps the Thursday song service. Keep the morning devotionals rotating through staff and leadership.  Keep the Monday morning prayer time, likewise.

Why not?

What would be the argument against it?


“When adjusting how our churches operate, the question is not, ‘How do we make the future look as much like the past as possible?’”
Instead, we should be looking for ways in which we can have the greatest reach and impact.  The greatest ways we can make ourselves essential.

Because if we come through this looking exactly like we did before, then we've failed.

Lord, let that not be said of us.

Be Ingenious

It's been easy to focus on what has been cancelled, shut down, and prohibited in this season.  To think of all the things we can no longer do, places we can no longer go, things we can no longer buy.  To view so much as non-essential and really re-evaluate what is essential.

For non-essential businesses especially, it can be very easy to focus on the negative.  The worries, the frustrations, the hurts.  

Every once and a while, though, you find one that gets ingenious.

In Brownsburg, we get a weekly paper in the mailbox, containing local news and interests, etc.  It's been fun to get to know the community and learn as much as possible in a time when it's hard to get out there and actually do so.  One column they have is on local food recommendations.  Now it has turned into where to get takeout from.  

What we discovered this past weekend was the Royal Theater in Danville, IN.

Here is a business in an industry that has been hit particularly hard.  Not allowed to be open, no new films coming out, no one able to go to the theater to watch.  And yet, this theater had a great spark of an idea.

This theater took its non-essential business and focused on what it could do in an essential time - sell food.

For several nights a week, the theater has been open to sell take out concessions.  Popcorn, drinks, candy.  Whatever you would need to make a home movie night a little more like a theater experience.  You can purchase outside or inside and pick it up to take home (or just enjoy in the car).

They are promoting it on their Facebook page and suggesting movies to watch, connecting with things like the Lionsgate movie of the week on Youtube.  Really engaging their customer base.

It was something that caught our eye, and captured our attention, so of course we went and got some for our Lord of the Rings marathon this past weekend.  And we'll be going back this week.  

It's an ingenious bit of business, making an opportunity when there seems to be none.  Moving from non-essential to essential by their particular business focus.  They are even selling cloth masks in the lobby (got a couple of those for the kids as well).

This is an example of how we get through this kind of crisis.  How businesses, how churches, how individuals get through seasons of great change - by adapting and changing with them.

Hopefully, as things are starting to open back up, and as they will not be immediately springing back to normal as we might hope, we can see more of this type of ingenuity out there.

More on this tomorrow...

Just Wear The Mask

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Judge Lina Higdalgo ordered residents of Harris County above the age of 10 years old to wear a mask or mouth and nose covering when going outside the home.  The order will begin Monday, April 27, 2020 and lasts for 30 days. Non-compliance can carry a fine.

This makes Harris County the latest Texas county to impose a mask wearing requirement.  It is a measure designed to help ease the transition back into opening things back up, while also protecting us from further spread of the virus.

Put simply, it is the absolute least we can do to prevent the continued spread of Covid-19.

And people of course are already losing their minds about it.

It's being compared to Sharia law.  Lawsuits are being filed.

The Houston Police Officer's Union is seeking an opinion on the legality of the order and likely will not enforce it.

HPOU's response to Judge Hidalgo's draconian mask order: "Now we want to be very clear, the Houston Police Officers’...
Posted by Houston Police Officers' Union on Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Texas Representative Briscoe Cain has written a letter urging that the stay at home order be lifted and that the "ridiculous order" for masks be lifted.

Today, I sent the following letter to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. It’s time we stop with any power grabs and open Texas up for business.
Posted by Briscoe Cain on Wednesday, April 22, 2020

All because of a requirement to wear face protection.

Here's what we know - wearing a face and nose covering is the easiest way to help prevent transmission of Covid-19.  Just by covering your face and nose with a cloth, whether that be a cloth mask, a scarf, or a bandana, you can help significantly reduce the likelihood of transmission to next to nothing.

Covid-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person in respiratory droplets from someone who is infected. This means droplets from coughs, from sneezes, from talking in a close proximity (i.e. within 6 feet). It can be spread by people not showing symptoms at the time.

By covering your mouth and nose with a cloth cover, you are lessening the likelihood of droplet transmission.

That’s it. The mask isn’t designed to prevent you from catching it. It's not some super protection for you.

It’s designed to prevent you from spreading it. And if everyone is wearing a mask, the likelihood of transmission plummets. Between two people wearing masks it can fall to 1.5%.

As we start opening the country back up, masks are going to be a new reality for a while. If you want to get out to non-essential businesses, and to be able to open things back up safely, masks, social distancing (6 foot gaps), and enhanced cleaning will be the way we do that.

It really is the easiest thing you can do to help protect the people around you.

And if you can’t even do that, or worse, if you refuse to do that, what does it say about you?

Quarantine Dangers - Gaslighting

In 1944, MGM released a new motion picture entitled Gaslight, starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, and a very young Angela Lansbury debuting in a particularly wicked role.  The film was based on a 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton entitled Gas Light and was the subject of a previous British film in 1940.

Now, it is impossible to talk about Gaslight and its relevance today without spoiling it, so please forgive me.  It is an incredible film and well worth the watch, so if you want to pause this and go watch the film and come back, I understand.

In the film, Bergman plays Paula, the niece of a world famous opera singer.  When Paula is 14, she witnesses her aunt's murder and interrupts the murder's attempt to steal a set of priceless jewels.  Paula is sent to Italy to study opera and grow.  Years later, she meets and marries Gregory Anton, played by Charles Boyer, and moves back into her aunt's old townhome at No. 9 Thornton Square with her new husband.  Here, things take a turn for the bizarre.  She seems to start forgetting things.  She hears footsteps in the attic, when no one else does.  The gas lights start to dim and flicker, though no one else notices (hence the name of the film).  Pictures disappear from the wall.  Because of this, Gregory keeps her isolated at home, implying he is doing so for her own good.

Paula eventually discovers that her husband is not what he seems.  He is really Sergis Bauer, her aunt's murderer, and he has been causing all of the bizarre activities and blaming them on Paula.  He removed the pictures.  He is dimming the gas lights.  He is searching the attic for the jewels he left behind all those years ago.

This underlying theme of the film has come to be referred to as gaslighting.  A form of psychological abuse in which the victim is gradually manipulated into doubting his or her own sanity.  It is a particular tool of narcissists, who use it to continually position themselves in the right and make their opponents doubt themselves.

Gaslighting requires a victimizer or group of victimizers and a victim or group of victims, and depends on the victimizer convincing the victim that their thinking is distorted and that the victimizer’s thinking is correct and true. It creates cognitive dissonance in the victim, making them question their own thinking, perception, and reality testing, leading to low self-esteem, and may facilitate confusion, anxiety, depression, and even psychosis. It is designed to foster a dependency on the victimizer, a learned helplessness making the victim more susceptible to the victimizer’s control.

It generally plays out over time, through increasing doubts in the victim’s thinking or perception.

I raise this discussion because this is the most recent form of danger we are seeing in this quarantine.  Large scale gaslighting regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.

It's in that insidious logic that says only X amount of people died, so Covid-19 can't have been all that serious, right?  Or that we didn't overrun the hospitals or use all the ventilators necessary, so the stay at home orders were unnecessary, right?

It's in the President rewriting his position on and his handling of the outbreak repeatedly.

It's behind the Fire Fauci movement.  In Trump saying the anti-stay at home protestors are practicing social distancing.

It's in the memes that overplay the comorbidity issues that we are seeing.  You know the ones.  The ones that are talking about a car crash victim showing up at the hospital and being treated as having died of Covid-19.

It's saying Covid-19 is just the flu.

Look, I'm not trying to say we have issues that need to be dealt with, questions that need answered about comorbidity, about true mortality rates, and about how to balance the disease and the economy on a global scale.

But if you are seeing news items or shared posts downplaying the severity of the virus and effectively saying our protective measures were not needed, you are being gaslighted.  Because we can measure the impact the disease has had in fatalities.  We can hear the first hand accounts of the severity of some of the symptoms.  We know it is more serious than the seasonal flu.

Arm yourself.  Gaslighting works because it makes you doubt what you know to be true.  To combat it, make sure you have verifiable, true information.  Get your news from sources that are known to be fair and true.  Stay up to date on statistics from first hand sources like the CDC and the WHO.

Please note, though, that facts and truth are not going to change someone who is engaging in gaslighting.  They will not make them back down.  You will not get that cathartic moment where the manipulator gets their comeuppance.  This is particularly true of narcissists, who will continually dig in their heels and find new ways to save face.

Being armed with the truth is more about staying sane yourself and recognizing the manipulation when it is occurring.

Stay safe out there.

"In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable – what then?"

1984, George Orwell

Earth Day @ 50

Today marks the fiftieth celebration of Earth Day.  The first celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States.  It now is observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, chaired by the first Earth Day 1970 organizer Denis Hayes.  According to Hays, Earth Day is now "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year."

Hays created Earth Day in response to the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, which spewed more than three million gallons of oil, resulting in an 800 square-mile oil slick he viewed by plane.  The day is to demonstrate our commitment to environmental protection.  Our commitment to be good stewards of the Earth.

This year, more than ever, we should see the impact that we can make in that regard.  How our actions (or in this case inaction) can impact the world around us.  And improve things for the better.

With us all in quarantine, we are seeing truly remarkable reports of environmental improvement around the world.  Our Earth is getting wilder - and cleaner.  Compared to the previous five years, March air pollution is down 46% in Paris, 35% in Bengaluru, India, 38% in Sydney, 29% in Los Angeles, 26% in Rio de Janeiro and 9% in Durban, South Africa, NASA measurements show.  Smog has stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and Indians have views of the skyline that they have not seen before.  Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the US northeast is down 30%.

The Earth is improving because we are not out in it.  Think about that for a while.

I know people who have thought that God sent COVID-19 to slow us down, to get our attention, to put families back together.  What if he sent it to heal His creation?  To fix the damage we have done as poor stewards of His creation?

This season is rough, no doubt, but it should be causing us to reflect and ask these questions.  I know everyone wants things to go back to normal, but if everything goes back exactly like it was before, then we've failed.  There are lessons to be learned from this and areas for us to improve when we start again.  How we steward the world around us should be one.

On this Earth Day, we should remember that we can make a difference.  We're seeing it all around us in this time.  What kind of difference we make when this is over is up to us.

Quarantine Dangers - Misinformation

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Mark Twain

Of all the dangers on social media today, mis- and dis-information is running rampant.  Insidiously, such posts focus on a piece of true information to then what "feels" true.  It's where we get the famous "alternative" facts.

It's even where we get the idea that the mainstream media can no longer be trusted.  That is a dis-information campaign on a massive scale and at the highest levels that shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the news works.  Our mainstream media sources are generally trustworthy, though it is important to know where their bias lies.  And no, it is generally not as large of a bias you would imagine.  It is also important to remember that their primary bias is towards "sensationalism, conflict, and laziness," as John Stewart would put it, not towards any political end.  Meaning, the news needs ratings, especially now more than ever and the maxims of "if it bleeds, it leads" and "sex sells" remain true.

And because we don't trust traditional news sources, we're putting out half-truths and lies from a variety of disreputable sources because the information they provide sounds true to us.  We don't fact check, we don't double-check sources, we don't scrutinize their claims.

This helps spread conspiracy theories as in the previous post and spread misinformation.

A lot of what we are sharing is based on anecdotal evidence and usually generic anecdotal evidence at that.  A "NY doctor" has shared, "French doctors" are sharing...  No names, no sources.  Just the secret piece of information that everyone else is missing.  Everyone else is overlooking.

At this point, if you are sharing something that seems like everyone else is ignoring, that no one else is telling the truth, or will dare to speak about, then you are spreading a lie.

For example, let's talk about hydroxy chloroquine and azithromycin.  The two drugs that everyone is sharing as the cure for Covid-19.  Yes, there is anecdotal evidence that some patients have improved with such treatment.  However, clinical trials of the drug have just started and we do not have enough evidence to show that it is an effective treatment for a broad population.  Anecdotes start the process, they are not the end.  We need hard, scientific data to be able to approve this treatment for the general population.  Because the historic evidence that we have is that the drug has not been effective against viral illnesses and carries potentially lethal cardiac consequences.  Further, the run on the drug caused by the anecdotal sharing is making it more difficult to obtain for the communities that depend on the drug.

The other anecdotal evidence being shared relates to hospital usage.  Reports that hospitals are near empty or are not seeing the number of Covid-19 cases expected.  You should recognize there is a bit of chicken and the egg here.  The cases are likely lower due to the shelter in place requirements and would be greater if everything was business as usual.  Likewise, reports that individual hospitals or individual wards are near empty only reveals the impact for one particular location, not the greater impact on your area, state, or the country.  If you want hard numbers, go to https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us.  This is the organization that the big entities (Morgan Stanley, PWC, Dell, HP, the BBC, the UK, parts of the UN, etc.) are using to get their data.

Every sharing hard numbers can be misleading, if you are not getting information from a trustworthy source like the one above.  Let's take an example showing how statistics are being manipulated right now, particularly with a comparison between H1N1 and Covid-19.  There are people that are pointing out that H1N1 killed 284,000 people worldwide and we didn't freak out then.  That only reveals part of the story.  H1N1 killed 284,000 people over 19 months.   Covid-19 has killed 168,906 people worldwide so far in just three months.  H1N1 killed over 12,000 Americans, Covid-19 has killed just over 42,000 Americans, already and the number continues to climb.

It can seem overwhelming.  I'm sure a lot of this is being shared a bit recklessly.  Without intent, but without research or confirmation.  It may have started as dis-information, that is the original poster wanted to create confusion or to lead away from trustworthy information.  But the vast majority of what is going on online is just people trying to latch on to some answer.  To find some hope of a way out of this.

So what can we do?

A few things, actually.

Before you share anything, before you post about the disease, the effects, the solutions

1. Verify the source - verify where the information is coming from. Is it from a major, well known source?  Is the source historically trustworthy?  Can you actually find the root source of the information?  Do they attribute and cite?  
2. Go to the root - when at all possible, avoid quoting from news outlets.  Instead post information from the World Health Organization.  The CDC.  From Worldometers above.  Go to the people with the data.
3. Think through what you are posting -  "Before you speak ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid." Bernard Meltzer.  Read through what you post.  If you cannot affirmatively prove it is true, if you can not affirmatively show the information helpful, if it is unkind, don't post.  We sadly have far to many people who have been commanded to be true, to be helpful, to be kind who are ignoring those commandments because they believe their side is right.

As if there were sides at all in this issue.

We'll get through this, but only together.  This quarantine time will either be a great opportunity for growth or it will tear us farther apart.

If you are participating in the misinformation campaign, even unwittingly, you're just contributing to the fracture.

Quarantine Dangers - Conspiracy Theories

"Conspiracy is the myth of the modern age."

Today begins a series on the dangers that are facing us in a quarantine age.  Beyond the virus, the dangers we are creating for ourselves, informing how we respond to this crisis and how we interact with those around us.

These are dangers that are growing via social media, in particular.  We're at home, we are generally connected for far too much of the day, and we are looking for ways to explain what we are going through.

Think about it, myths existed to explain the world around us.  They told how the world was created, why it rained, how the sun rose and where it went, etc.  They even explained why bad things happened, either as a punishment from the gods or as a result of a god's actions.

When we feel powerless, when we feel out of control, we come up with an explanation for it.  And the most obvious way we explain the world around us today is through conspiracy theories.  The "Men in Black."  Deep-state government.  George Soros.  The Koch Brothers.  The Clinton Assassinations.  The anti-vaccination movement.  9-11 was an inside job.  And so on, and so on.

All based on emotion rather than fact.  All selectively choosing information, ignoring other facts and science, and reacting based on what feels correct.  What fits the narrative that they have created.

Right now, conspiracy is running rampant.

The coronavirus was created in a Chinese lab and was leaked or intentionally released.  Bill Gates created and released the virus so he can profit from the vaccine he is creating.  The future vaccine for this virus will contain a microchip that will be the Mark of the Beast.  The virus deaths are being exaggerated and the media is lying to us regarding the severity as part of a deep state plot to perform a test run of taking over the country and subjecting us to martial law and stealing our rights.

Really?!?

Some of these take the smallest piece of fact and stretch it to the maximum extent possible. They then generate an often outlandish tale of good and evil.  That's really the thing - conspiracies help us make things orderly.  They get there in an overly complicated way, but they are generally very orderly.  This person, this group does this for money, for greed, for power.  It clearly delineates good guys and bad guys in stark black and white terms.

Real life is messier.  People screw up.  They act against traditional motivations.  They play against type.  It doesn't follow a straight line.  "Good guys" do bad things with the best intentions.  "Bad guys" do good things for the wrong reasons.

Further, any conspiracy involving the government gives them too much credit for efficiency.  Just look at how long it took them to come together to approve the stimulus and then to delay it so that our dear leader could sign it and make sure he got his attribution.

Conspiracies require groups of people acting in concert and keeping things secret for far longer than people are actually able to do.  Few people will die to protect the truth.  None will die to protect a lie.

In the current situation, each of the Coronavirus theories above has much simpler, more fact based explanations.

The WHO has found no evidence that the virus was created in a Chinese lab.  Coronavirus, generally, is a very common naturally occurring virus.  This one just mutated to affect us, and some of us greatly.

Bill Gates had the foresight to see that a viral pandemic would be possible in the future and has been working on eliminating malaria for a long time. It would seem natural, given his philanthropy, he would be working to find a vaccine.  And he will be taking a loss in the process.  We should promote this kind of action by billionaires.

Any future vaccine will be necessary to stop the spreading.  No one will take the Mark of the Beast unknowingly.  If you believe that, you need to re-read Revelation.  To take the Mark of the Beast, you will know that you are being required to worship the Beast.

The discussion of the exaggeration of viral deaths is part conspiracy and part misinformation/gaslighting.  It's relying on anecdotal evidence based on a specific location to extrapolate it to the world. "It's not affecting me, so it can't be that bad."

It's our job to combat this.  It's our job to check sources.  To verify the news agency's bias.  If you are getting information from Breitbart, it is less trustworthy than NPR or the BBC, regardless of whether you want to believe this or not.

If you are a Christian, it is especially vital, as we are to be ministers of truth, not conspiracy or misinformation.

I get it, we may not like the truth right now.  We may feel powerless.  We may feel out of control.  But we gain nothing by spreading useless conspiracies. In fact, we risk minimizing people's losses and pain.  We risk actively making the situation worse, by ignoring the actual sound advice we have been given.

Let's focus on the truth, on reality for a while, and promote efforts that bring us together.

A Warning Regarding Your Digital Life - Social Media Quizzes

With social isolation and quarantining the norm, social media usage is on the rise.  People are home, connected to the internet, and looking for ways to entertain and distract themselves.  And with that, particular types of social media activity are on the rise.  Celebrities reading.  Music and singing.  And quizzes.  Lots and lots of quizzes.

The five names that you go by.

The five jobs that you've had.

Favorites.

Graduation pictures.

So many types of quizzes, that they make you pause a bit and wonder what the end of this is.  Then you see reminders like this -

Or even this,


And they are right.  The vast majority of the types of things that are asked for in these questions come up as security questions for your bank account, your credit card, your email, your online bills, etc., etc., etc.

By engaging in all of these quizzes, you are putting out so much personal information that can be used to get around any passwords that you may have on your most sensitive data.  Click on forgot password, hope for a security question by-pass, and viola.

I get it, these are fun ways to engage in social media.  It's fun to learn more about your friends.  It's fun to connect in someway virtually.  But you have to be careful about the ways you do so.

Make sure your accounts have two-factor authentication - i.e. make sure that when you log on you have to input a code from a text or email that you receive.  Text is best because it is most likely you will be the only person with access to your phone.

Limit who you are friends with or interact with on social media.  Only accept friend requests from people that you know.  That you could ask to confirm they were the one to send you the request.

Really evaluate the types of content that you are putting out there.  What private information are you sharing.  Be very selective about what you share.

You have to be careful about what is put online.  It can exist forever, it can be used against you, it can come back to harm you.  It's a great tool, but it is a potentially dangerous one.

That will be the theme of the next few posts.  A series of posts on potential quarantine dangers, focusing on that challenges of each, and why they are particularly harmful in this time.

Conspiracy Theories
Misinformation
Gaslighting

Each are serious issues facing our ability to get through this time together and to minimize casualties.  Each will require recognition and our vigilance online to combat them.

Be safe, be smart.

Mitchuation Update - One Month In

It's now one month since we moved the whole family up to Indianapolis.  One month since we got in the car and started driving away from Texas.

Let me reiterate - moving in a global pandemic is very interesting.

It makes getting to know the place you are moving to challenging to say the least.  We really haven't seen Indianapolis, except through car windows, though we have greatly enjoyed the places where we have stayed.  The Airbnb in Old Northside was amazing and it was great to get to know our hosts.  Avalyn and Jude loved playing with their two year old, at appropriate distances of course.

We are finally completely moved in to our home in Brownsburg and have been staying here since Good Friday.  While there are still pieces that need to come together, every box has been opened, virtually 80% of everything is in its place.

We're actually a little accustomed to the day to day. Prior to getting the job with Cummins, I had been working from home for the past five months.  Jamie had already been homeschooling Avalyn and Jude for this entire school year.  We were only getting out on any regular basis for supply runs.

What we are missing, though, is field trips.  Excursions.  Date nights.  All of the things we were looking forward to experiencing in Indianapolis and surrounding areas.

We're trying to make it work as much as possible though.  We've enjoyed Take-out Tuesday, supporting local restaurants, by getting food delivered.  And we've had some really good food.  Great authentic Chinese food.  Excellent gyros.  Classic Indiana tenderloin sandwiches.

We've also made a point to watch good art.  We're working through Akira Kurosawa, having seen five of his classic films so far, with five more saved for future viewing.  We're even moving from the Kurosawa film to the other versions they inspire going from Seven Samurai to The Magnificent Seven, and now looking at Yojimbo/Sanjuro and A Fistful of Dollars.

It's a process, but it works.  We at least have a project to keep working on, in getting the house to feel like a home.  We just have to balance the desire to get everything together, without just buying everything in sight that we see because we like it and don't have much else to do.

We'll keep at it and will keep updating you.  Hope y'all are adjusting well and are making it work.  Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home as much as possible.  We'll get through this, even if it is a long haul.

The Monday After

Easter is now officially over.

The question is, what now?

The Resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.  If Christ is not resurrected, then what hope do we have.

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.  In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God.  For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men."

1 Corinthians 15: 12-18

The greatest hope of the Resurrection is not that Jesus was raised once.  It's that He remains alive.  He is alive and omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.  He is alive and at the right hand of the Father.  He is alive and reigning on high.

And that is something we can and should celebrate each and every day of the year!

For too many people, Easter is the one time of year that the Resurrection is given any thought.  It may be one of only a couple of times the enter the church, likely as a responsibility to family.  It's the only time they hear the story of Jesus' death and resurrection.  And with the Monday after Easter, everything is back to normal.  Easter is over.  The obligations are complete.  Reality sets back in.

Sadly, I think this is the case for far too many Christians as well.  

Oh, they can quote the verses.  They sing "My Redeemer Lives," "He Lives," and "Resurrecting."  They are in services every week, and they would say they believe every word of the Easter story.  They believe in Jesus' death and literal resurrection.

They just don't live like it.

For far too many Christians, the Resurrection is brought out at Easter and then celebrated, but then Jesus is put back in the tomb or back on the cross.

Others may only be celebrating this one time a year; gathering with family for the annual obligation.  Without being able to gather this year, what happened to that obligation?  Did many still view a service out of habit?

Jesus on the cross is marketable.  It's fashionable.  It can be worn on t-shirts and jewelry.  It can be put on Bible covers, hung on walls, and be used as an easily recognizable symbol.  And when Jesus remains on the cross, when he remains a savior that died for our sins, then we have been saved and our present obligation ends.  Likewise, with Jesus in the tomb.

The resurrection is something different.  If Jesus not just rose again, but is alive today, then we have obligations to him.  We have to recognize him as Lord.  As the ruling King of Kings.  And we have to live accordingly.  Jesus as Lord requires more of us.

"For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.  For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So death works in us, but life in you."

2 Corinthians 4: 5-12

Leaving Jesus in the tomb or on the cross misses out on the power that He can demonstrate in our daily lives.  On the mission that He has for us today.  Now.  On the blessings, the comfort, and the LIFE that only He can provide.

So don't let your celebrating end.  Don't let Easter be the end of your remembrance and celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.  Don't keep Jesus in the tomb.

He's alive!

Hallelujah!

Now let's live like on more than just Easter Sunday.

Easter Sunday

"Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

Luke 24:1-7

Today marks the greatest celebration of the Christian life.  The greatest news that could be shared.  He is not among the dead.  He's alive, He's alive, He's alive!!

We have hope because He has won the victory over death and the grave.  No matter how dark Friday was, no matter how difficult the waiting on Saturday, it's Sunday and Christ is victorious!

May the joy and grace of the Easter season be on you and your family!  If you do not know the reason why we celebrate, I pray you find yourself surrounded with friends who exemplify the good news and are overjoyed to share. There are plenty of online opportunities today to join a celebration.

God’s blessings on you today and continuing through this year.