Mom

Eric Fromm writes “Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.”  I know that as I get older my mother seems to get smarter…  all her stories, beliefs and direction she gave me.  Probably the greatest gift she could ever pass to me was the gift of love.  Reach out to your mother today and those who play those roles for us.  Extend a word, a smile or a hug.

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s, Premarital  Couples Coaching, Funeral Minister, Pastoral Care.  (402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     Nebraska & Iowa

Body & Car

My body is much like my car.  If there is no fuel, it doesn’t move.  If it is not hydrated, it doesn’t move.  And if the life blood of the car is not kept filtered and fresh, it will stop moving.  I need food, water and my spiritual connection to what I hold to be true and sacred to keep my mind, body and spirit centered.

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Today

EMERGENCY MESSAGE FROM THIS BROADCAST STATION: There are not enough bridges in this world and in your life, and too many walls.  Now is the time to live, now is the time to engage, now is the time to get through those items for tomorrow.  You ARE beautiful, you ARE loved, and you ARE worthy!

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Change

All it takes is one of us to push that first domino to begin the chain reaction that leads to change…  It could be you holding a door for someone that has their hands full or simply saying good morning to someone or helping someone carry something.  All acts of kindness that may result in another person paying “it” forward.  We can be the change in the world we seek!

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Kindness

Why should I…help others, feed others or even vote.  I am only one person and the actions of one do not make a difference.  

Why vote in any election my votes does not matter.  In the United States you are allowed to vote, what a wonderful RESPONSIBILITY!  Your vote does matter, it is needed and you have a responsibility to make YOUR voice heard.  Know the issues, know the candidates and be an informed voter.  

You can feed a person for a day with one fish.  Teach them to fish and you can feed them and others for a lifetime!  You CAN make a difference by helping others with your time (teaching), your talents (sharing your passions) or your treasure (donations.)  Paying it forward does make a difference and what goes around DOES come around!  

Once YOU acknowledge that YOUR acts of kindness (both received and given by you) you then can no longer believe that what you do does not matter.  You can make a difference your life and the lives of others!   

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

9/11 to me

Today is September, 11^th.  It represents the ten year anniversary of what has lead to many changes in our country, and others.

I woke up that morning, it was my day off.  I was the Executive Housekeeper at the Embassy Suites.  I was talking to a dear friend of mine, Weenonah Bayer.  As we were talking we both happened to turn the news on and was confused.  We hung up trying to get a grip on it.  She has a son that lives near DC, so her focus was on that story.  Then the image that will forever be burned into my memory with little chance of being erased.  With smoke coming out of one of the towers, I watched as the big plane flew right into the other tower. After seeing it a couple of times, it still did not register to me what the hell was going on.  I called Nonah back and asked her.  When we both clued in, we both were hysterical for different reasons.

How did you react?  What did you do?  I wanted to go shoe shopping.  I could not find a store that was opened.  I threw a fit.  Yelling, using foul language, ready to fight someone, something…  I was mad as hell that someone did this to my country.  Even for that moment, New York was mine too!

The word I use today is numb.  I was numb then and I am numb now.  I don’t read books, I don’t watch movies and don’t like photos of that day.  I don’t know if it is too much for me to bare or as long as I don’t have to deal with it, I don’t have to deal with it.

That does mean I have not cried.  That does not mean I have not prayed.  And that does not mean that I have not given thought to those who lost their lives and who gave their lives that day (and the days following.)

I am not sure what our country has learned from this event.  I am saddened to read and listen to the words of others who condemn all Muslims for the events of that day.  I don’t understand how an entire group of people (in varying degrees of their faith) can be held accountable for the action of those who took actions that were not representing Muslims world-wide or ALL Muslims for that matter.

Andrea Raynor has been serving as a Ground Zero Chaplain since 9/11/01.  While working in the morgue for many weeks she received body bag after body bag.  She offered a blessing not knowing what religion the person had practiced.  One day, what was believed to be the remains of the hijackers were found, a worker helped here instead.  She asked “Was this body desecrated in any way when you found it?  Was it spat upon or treated in any disrespectful way?”  And what she was told brought her to tears.  The reply from the worker was “These remains were treated with the same respect as all the other remains.  After all, this is still someone’s son.”

Romans 12:5 tells us “…we are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”  Reading that story conjured up many emotions, thoughts and visions.  I keep thinking of MLK being shot, JFK being shot, Harvey Milk being shot, and so many others.  I think of the rage of hate that others have when they want to bring harm or demonstrate indifference towards other human beings.  No one is a second class citizen.  We are all from the same universe, when we will start treating each other as equals? 

YES I DID

The wishbone is not a substitute for the backbone.  Coulda, woulda, and shoulda added together-equal nothing.  YOU are the author of your life story.  Not the media.  Not people or groups that say you are not worthy.  Not your past mistakes.  Turn the no you cant’s into YES I DID!

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Today

In every nation there is work to be done.  In every community there are wounds to heal. And in every person exists a heart of hearts to accomplish it all.  In the US we have people who can’t afford to pay their cable bill.  In other countries finding food to keep their children alive is a daily struggle.  In some countries finding clean water to drink is the struggle.  We can make a difference.  If we choose to.

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Ego's

This society has a great need for gratification, and the culture is says it's possible for everyone to satisfy all their needs and desires all the time which allows for one person at a time to get all of the blame via the clashes of ego’s. I long for a time when we focus on feeding our souls and not our ego’s; when it is easier to build someone up instead of tearing them down. Are you ready?

I’m 43 years old, soon (very soon) to be 44. That extra year may make a difference. I remember times growing up in Bellevue. I recall the interaction that everyone shared with each other. A level of respect, if you will, that I believe for the most part, is absent today.

It goes beyond listening skills, it goes beyond holding doors open, it goes beyond helping do all you can with what you have because it is the right thing to do. It goes beyond what and HOW we are taught as a society by ads, commercials, TV shows, movies, social media, and music. People seem to be mere commodities of disposable proportions, and you don’t have to be a gang member to behave like that.

It seems to me, that in my childhood, and I own that… MORE people realized that they lived in glass houses and so they didn’t throw stones themselves. Today there sure is a lot of finger pointing going on. This person does this, that person said that, this group does this, those people do this… Accepting personal responsibility for your own actions, your own life, your own truth, your own journey would go a long way in making this world a better place.

I can be the change that I seek in this world. If I point one finger at someone else, I will remember that there are three pointing back at me.

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis. Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship? US! We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception. Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006 www.inclusivelife.org

Focus

I observed some human interactions this weekend that made me sad; people treating others to the point of breaking them down to tears, some intentional and some perhaps not.  When we communicate we remember only  7% of spoken words, we recall 38% of the tone of voice used and the greatest impression is 55% of body language displayed!  Remember that words can hurt as much as sticks and stones!

It is a good thing to be focused.  And it is a bad thing to be so focused that you lose sight of what you are focused on and that everyone around becomes a blur.  I believe that part of the enlightenment is the experience of the lessons in the journey.  Allowing others to participate (and accepting that they will NOT do it the exact way you would AND may in fact achieve the desired results.  And then maybe they won’t.), helping others grow and learn helps us grow and learn as well.

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Happy Sunday

Now that worship has ended let the service begin. What a great way to be mindful of one of the reasons to gather in community; to be reminded that the lessons we should be learning-we should be sharing (and not with just each other on Sunday!) Happy Sunday…

Disposable Items

I have been typing, texting and leaving messages for some friends whom I have not spent time with for some time.  They had not responded to any of the communications AND I kept sending them.  I knew that they were being received and read.   I got an note from them confirming that.  Sometimes our friends and family are in different places in life than we are.  Don’t ever forget, give up or stop loving them.

Razors, plastic bags, diapers, cameras are all examples of disposable items.  People and relationships are not disposable, well, at least they should not be.  How many times has something happened between you and another person and either you or the other person “quit” the relationship?  Regardless if it is a neighbor, family, friends, co-worker, or… 

In the service industry there is a saying that “it takes years to win a customer and only seconds to lose one.”  Unfortunately we are a society that values temporary relationships (get what you need/want, quick gratification, and often place little or no value on long standing commitment, loyalty and value in building and growing with one another. 

Running or quitting will not solve the issue at hand.  It may relieve you have having to “deal” with it AND it will happen again with different people.  You must forge your way through the wall despite how difficult it is.  The reward will be greater than you can ever imagine. 

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org