Uphill idealist

1 Corinthians 13 Image from Cafe Sozo. (This short message was shared as part of the wedding ceremony for my friends Daniel and Leanna today...) "1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, the...

Like a video link that my college freshman daughter shares with me. "You me - dancing!" There is some car dancing to ensue very soon indeed !

October marks the month for costumes and dress up for Halloween. Why should boxes be left out of the fun? Each October, Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry creates flashy boxes for a purpose: to draw attention to our food drive to help collect food for Joint Neighborhood Project. Here are ONE: TWO: THREE: examples of how boxes - and caring for others isn't' boring!

This week I've been working on a banner project with some gentlemen living "First House", a recovery home now in the parsonage of my church. The group of guys gave direction on the theme verse, "But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 It's a fabric banner that I placed trim around, and then added a graphic of a lantern in the center. It was a great team project that will grace the entrance to the home for their open house this coming Friday. Blessings to First house and all who live and enter there - let you light shine!

Image from Amazon.com. When my daughter was little, she loved the Richard Scarry book collection. Her favorite was the three story collection of Pig Will and Pig Won't. As you can guess, Pig Will was easy going and willing to help where help was needed and take care of things that needed to be done. Pig Won't - for the most part, wasn't interested in helping or doing much of anything. Scarry's books are filled with cautionary tales, but the endearing animal characters ironically humanize the conflict of each story. Years after reading these books, the lessons have stuck with me - as a parent and personally. While most of the time people fall in the middle of will and won't - the story of these brother pigs have reminded me how important my attitude and action (or inaction) are. Years ago, if my kids started out having a bad morning I'd say, "Hey, why don't you run upstairs, hop into bed, hop back out and start your day over again?" or when the...

Dreamcatcher image from Juror 2 - exceptionally curious t-shirts website. I love looking for, finding and observing connections in life and today's focus for Sleeping with Bread is exactly that - defining where connections are and aren't made. I don't know if you ever had the chance to see the TV program "Connections" , with James Burke - the science historian; but it is one of my favorite documentary series". James makes his way through the world, exploring the how, why, and what of things that have come to be from the perspective of 1978. I love to find out the way things work and how what they do connects people. I love studying connections! (If you would like to watch some episodes of Connections, you can view them at Top Documentary Film's website.) SWB Meme prompt: Where did you feel the least and the most "Connected" this week? There is some crossover for me this week on where I've felt the most or least connected. If you have e...

Image from Citarell's Restaurant website. In-between two slices of bread, is the stuff of life some have said. Lunchbags are filled with salty and sweet, but not without grain filled, with lettuce, cheese and meat. Wrapped in wax paper, saran or in foil - this portable meal has a way of delivering joy. Perhaps peanut butter and jelly is the best, it pays no attention to age like some of the rest. Baloney, salami, capicola and spam - is it still lunch meat if it come from a can? Pickles of dill and mayo that's real, help to bring out taste that clinches the deal. Then there is banana, honey and Fluff, when you've had way to much of the other stuff. My tastes and flavors for sandwiches are many, you see. The love of a sandwich is something thats not on the in-between. The troubles of life can be many that's true, but sitting down with a friend over a sandwich, has a way putting things together and pulling you through. T.L. Eastman Oct 2011