Whiny Thanks and All ...

I have just finished, I hope, one of the busiest periods of my professional career.  And I am exhausted. I have finished my first book, been on the curriculum revision committee at the seminary where I teach, created a brand new course and taught it this semester, had a lot going on in my church and personal life, presented at the meeting of my professional guild, and have taken on too many writing obligations than I should have. So I am beat.

But I am also so amazingly aware of how blessed I am. I have a family I love, a job I adore, students who inspire me, writing jobs that challenge and engage my mind, and I love to teach new and old courses alike. So I am blessed.

I watch friends and even family members struggling without jobs or suffering in jobs they do not enjoy or are not fed by. I watch colleagues struggling with job searches and reduced teaching loads. So I am thankful.

I have not blogged in a while because my writing was focused on my book. I have not felt good about it and have complained because I missed it terribly. But I hear friends and colleagues struggling to get what they want to say on paper and I am aware again how lucky I am to have these projects and contracts to write. So I am appreciative.

Many times, however, when I am busy and tired - I whine. Many times when I over schedule - I whine. Seldom do I stop - and just sit in gratitude and bask in the blessing.

So this past month I took on the Gratitude Challenge on Facebook. I wrote every day of the month of November about things I was grateful for. Some were silly ... like being thankful for ice-cream. Some were situationally based ... like being grateful for a fantastic sermon preached in class by one of my students.  Some were family focused ... like being grateful for the heritage passed on to me from previous generations and the chance to pass them on to my son.

Some were about vocational and personal happiness ... like being grateful for a job I love and the terrific house that is part of my compensation and the chance to live in our wonderful community. And some were deeply personal ... like being thankful for the safety of my son when some friends of my niece were in a terrible auto accident. And some were intensely spiritual ... like being grateful for being part of my faith community in its inclusive, progressive, challenging, incarnational, and prophetic reality.

I am writing this after Thanksgiving week and at the end of the Gratitude Challenge on Facebook - a natural time to stop and give thanks. And I am immensely thankful for all of these things, people, situations, communities, etc. But today I also want to say thanks for keeping me busy, for making me crazy with deadlines, for my family and community, and for obligations that bless me and my vocation.

I may still whine and complain when I allow too much on my plate, but even in those times I want to stop and say thank you. I am grateful for my life - and all that is part of this fantastic existence that God has blessed me with.

Thank you, God for my life - in the craziness and in the calm.

Thank you, God for my family - in their lovely absurdity and in their caring.

Thank you, God for my faith - in the times of doubt and in the moments of certainty.

Thank you, God for my job - in the crush of papers and in the moments of grace.

Thank you, God for my church - in the challenges and in the growth.

Thank you, God for my parents - in their aging issues and in their spry youthful joy.

Thank you, God for my writing - in the moments it rocks and in the ones when it sucks.

Thank you, God for your presence - in all times and in all places.

Thank you, God, again, for my life - in the blessings and in the pain.

Thank you, God.

10 Reasons Why I am a Political Junkie

Someone asked me the other day why I am so interested in politics.  They wondered why I watch CNN and C-SPAN, read political news and blogs, and pay close attention to the debates and public discourse of our political leaders and system.  Their reason … and they admitted it … is that they find it all too distasteful and polemical to watch anymore.  So here are my reasons for being part of the process by being a political junkie:

1.  I want to be part of the solution by being an informed voter.  So I pay attention to what candidates are saying during the election cycles – knowing they will likely not get everything done they promise during the campaign but it is important to note what they value and fight for once in office.

2.   Even national politics are local.  The decisions made in Washington affect my life in real ways – my taxes, the roads I drive on, the health care I have access to, the rights my family is afforded (or not), and the ways my son’s education is administered – just to name a few.

3.   I want to participate in creating dialogue between opposing sides of political debates.  This is hard to do but occasionally it can be an amazing process from which to learn and grow. (It can also be extremely difficult and painful – but I believe it is still worth the effort and risk.)

4.  I want to know where my tax dollars are being spent.  Sometimes I agree and sometimes I don’t but it is a good thing to know.  And if I disagree – I contact my representatives and let them know what I think about their decisions.

5.  Every once and a while you see our leaders come together to do something good.  This is rarer than I would want it to be, but it does happen.  Examples – and you may disagree – are increasing the number of kids receiving health care and keeping insurance companies from excluding people based on pre-existing conditions, caring for our planet, taking care of those less fortunate, and providing income help to those who have lost jobs.

6.   Being a participant and voting in every election since I turned 18 years of age allows me to complain with full confidence and integrity.  (LOL!)   I also know folks who never vote but whine all the time about elected officials.  This drives me crazy.

7.  C-SPAN can actually be fun to watch.  It shows us the “sausage making procedure” that is our political process.  It is often ugly and the ingredients are gross but the end result can be enlightening.

8.  I want my son to be part of the election and political process so we watch TV together and discuss the issues.  He is a very informed 13 year old.  He is concerned with the state of our political system and how it will affect his future so he wants to know what is happening.  That makes me proud.  (He also wants to be part of a political protest march someday.  We have marched against gun violence locally but he wants to march for/against something in Washington DC.)

9.  I can impact my community by advocating for new laws that protect the rights of the marginalized, disenfranchised, and powerless.  I can work to limit access to guns by person’s ineligible for purchasing them.  I can work to expand the rights of families who need protection.  I can convey to my elected officials what I value as they debate legislation.  This is the power of one vote – one voice combined with others.

10.  There are moments when I am proud of the system.  Like this week’s celebration of Rep. Gabby Giffords’ service to the House of Representatives.  The touching moment at the State of the Union and the next day's tribute were amazingly uplifting – from both sides of the aisle.  It reminded me of how we can be as a people.

These are just some of the reasons I am an active participant in the political process.  And obviously it is such a tough topic to discuss that I am sure some of you will disagree with my politics - but maybe we at least can agree on why we care.

Whiny Does Not Work!

I admit it – I am a bit whiny today.  It is 103 degrees with a heat index of 116 in Philly right now.  I used to live in Texas and it got HOT there.  But here there is so much more humidity and no central air conditioning so I am whiny today.  I have worked inside all day near my window unit air conditioner.  It is still not very cool.  So I am whiny.  And the truth is – it is not working for me.  Whining has not made it cooler or more comfortable.  Whining has not made me happy or helped me feel better.  But I have whined nonetheless.

The reality is – I am lucky.  I have a home, an air conditioner, and the money to pay the bill (I hope. Though I do live in fear of my next PECO bill).  I am lucky that I do not work outside or rely on the weather for my livelihood.  Farmers all over the country are losing crops and entire growing seasons.  The elderly and poor are suffering without resources to stay cool.  Dozens of heat related deaths have already occurred.   In some areas – the heat is joined with months of no rain and wildfires to boot.  The toll this heat wave is taking on our country and its people is incredible.

Today I awoke to hear about bombings in Oslo, Norway, the continuing squabbles over the debt ceiling in America, and more insanity – from a 51 year old actor marrying a 16 year old to the hacking scandal enveloping England and beyond.  There is a lot of stuff going on in the world that is downright crazy serious.  There are people unemployed and children sick with preventable diseases, yet we continue to make decisions that keep the poor in poverty and allow the rich to get richer without paying their fair share.  And we allow those with few resources fend for themselves.

I saw this status update on Facebook yesterday, “I was going to complain about how hot it is, then I realized that: 1) It isn't really 109 degrees; 2) I'm not 5,700 miles from home; 3) I'm not dressed in a full BDU uniform and helmet and carrying 70+ lbs.; and 4) There is very little chance that anyone will shoot at me or that I might drive over a bomb in the road today! Thanks to all who serve. Repost so they all know how thankful we are for our Freedom!”  It was another reminder that we are extraordinarily lucky and blessed.  I need to remember that – and that whining isn’t going to keep me cool.

So thank you to those folks to labor in this heat.  Thank you to the farmers and farm workers whose livelihood is so connected to the Earth and her temperatures.  Thank you to the leaders who remember the needs of the poor and elderly when they make decisions.  Thank you to those who work for social change to make the Earth and her inhabitants our priority.  Thank you to those who care for those effected by the heart – doctors, nurses, medical personnel, EMS personnel, and volunteers for various organizations around the globe working to make life better.

I may get whiny now and then – but I hope that in those moments I remember others and all that they endure.  May I work alongside them to create the Kindom that God intends – where the needs of others are important to all.  Whiny won’t help anyway!