Every day within the new Washington regime is like a ride on Stratosphere X-Scream in Las Vegas. The ups, the downs, the being dangled over the Strip nearly 900 feet up.
While the playful analogy may suggest that one terrifying event is equivalent to another, nothing is further from the truth.
Because riding the X-Scream is a choice, and those who ride report that it’s a great trip.
Not so for the horrifying ride America is taking at the hands of an unelected official wandering through Washington departments like a farmer taking a scythe to his hayfield. It feels like we are being presented with a new horror every day. Jobs lost. People unemployed. Families devastated. Darting about from one area to another may seem chaotic, and it also feels purposeful, like a shell game. Move the shells around quickly enough and very few can determine where the pea ends up. The average American cannot keep up with the hurried pace and dizzying shakeups. Nor can we measure the best way to combat the craziness and stop the nonsense while it can still be stopped.
The courts have been helpful in slowing a few things down. But more help from Congress is not readily available at the moment. A few solid Republicans must martial the courage it will take to face down the madness. History will describe them as heroes, but that will take awhile. In the meantime they must face a vengeful president who does not know how to negotiate and, more than that, is known for getting even with people who cross him.
And we mere citizens, we don’t get excused from the courage hook either. I feel big change in Washington cannot occur without us. Our role is more confused, less clear. We are the citizenry, and our voices can empower those we have elected to the House and Senate to represent us. Whereas speaking up is THEIR job, they need our backing to do it. But we all have daily lives, work, school, caretaking a relative. These are fundamental responsibilities that should not be shirked.
What we need is a call to duty, and a catalog of duties that are doable–big or little–that will further the cause of protecting the American democracy. Somehow Democratic leadership needs to get itself organized and start rallying those who cherish freedom. If we don’t get our act together, I fear there is a point in time where our action may be too late.
What a sorrowful state of affairs. What can we do?
Idols versus God A reflection on Psalm 115 Idols a Think of an idol as a god that people make. For most believers, there is one God. A buck-stops-here God. A Holy God.
Idols abound in this world we call home. Idols that can draw attention away from the holy.
Now these idols are not little figurines, or images of what we think God must look like. If they were, it would be easy to spot them and walk away.
No, idols are much more subtle, things like money, charm, popularity, fame. Think about idols any time you hear the words, “I’d give anything for…..”
Ambition can be a form of idol, moving up the ladder. It’s seductive, and it’s difficult to separate out from a healthy approach to doing your job well in this world.
A friend once said to me, “If you want to see what you worship, watch where your money goes.” Cars, jewelry, decor, clothing, education, charity?
What does my spending—beyond for basic needs—say about my values?
You stand at the threshold, feet tangled in roots of doubt, hands full of what-ifs, as if they were stones to carry— as if you were meant to bear their weight. The road waits, unmoving, not a whisper of judgment, not a sigh of impatience— just an open stretch of light that has always been yours. What if the door is not locked? What if the sky is not falling? What if the only thing between you and forward is the story you keep telling yourself? Loosen your grip. Let the stones fall. Step through.
Maybe you’re feeling as I do, in somewhat of a liminal state. That place between this and that. That space between the jump off and the landing. A feeling of being unmoored, perhaps in danger, but how can we tell?
A liminal state can be kind of exciting for adrenaline fans, kind of frightening for the already-anxious.
What I am defining as a liminal state is the current condition of affairs in the United States of America. In the words of an old song, are we going ninety miles an hour down a dead end street?
Too many changes, too quickly, with questionable hands at the wheel, decisions seeming rash, abrupt, reckless?
Maybe you even voted for the man at the top, but never expected such quick and extreme actions in such a variety of directions, as if the latest hurry-up is intended to distract us from our worry over previous decisions.
For sure, it’s a way to paralyze voters. If we don’t like something that is happening, what are we to do? Wait to see if the next uprooting is even more upsettling. Or the one after that? Or the one after that? Will we act in time?
Well, I’m done with being paralyzed. And you can be, too. A friend told me about an “app” that lets me register my thoughts immediately with elected officials, the only people who can help—besides the courts.
Here’s the app. It’s name is 5 Calls. It identifies current issues that may concern you and me, and (once you’ve entered a ZIP code) you receive names of your federal representatives and how to connect to their offices. It provides–should you feel the need–sample comments you can use or incorporate with your own content. You can also do this online. Here’s a link to the 5 Calls web site.
As far as I can see, this puts decision-making into the hands of the people affected–exactly where it belongs.
It’s easy nowadays to forget some things about those early followers of Jesus.
Many of them believed him to be the long-awaited Messiah for the people of Israel.
The answer to that belief from followers today generally is “yes.” And “no.”
The passage from Acts 11, starting at verse 1, is a brief glimpse at how uncircumcised, non-Jews were eventually accepted into the family of Jesus the Christ. They belonged. Period.
Someone may be tempted to rush in with, “But that was a long time ago.There aren’t exclusions anymore.”
I proffer that many people today feel just like those first-century Gentiles: Not welcome. Not belonging.
It seems there’s always a category of person or persons who we believe have to work on a few things before they’re ready for our pews
But guess what? Jesus is ready for them, day or night, seven days a week. Amen.
This year’s Academy Awards will be broadcast on March 2. For some people, this coming Sunday’s Superbowl tops their TV year. For me, it is the Oscars.
Thinking about today’s blog theme, belonging, takes me back to 1969, when Barbra Streisand won the award for Best Actress for Funny Girl. (There was a tie for the Best Actress award in 1969. Katharine Hepburn won for her role in The Lion in Winter.)
Here’s the thing. I don’t remember much about the movie, but I sure remember her singing People Who Need People.
I was in my early 20s, and fell in love with the song. I was sure it pertained to me.
It was romantic, implying that needing people is the key to opening love’s doors.
People, people who need people, are the luckiest people, the song says.
But as with so many things that stir the heart and rouse the soul, needing people doesn’t guarantee a life filled with joy. Or, at least that’s been my experience.
Besides the misery that loneliness can bring, scientists are now considering the negative health effects of protracted loneliness. In a country where health care developments lead to longer lives, it seems timely to consider the quality of the those longer lives since much of them may be spent living as a single person.
Feeling as if we belong somewhere, to someone, can take the edge off of loneliness’ impacts on you or those you love. Below I have include AI-assisted research on problems and solutions of loneliness.
1. Health Consequences – Chronic loneliness is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, weakened immune function, and cognitive decline, including a higher risk of dementia. It can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
2. Mental Health Effects – Loneliness is strongly associated with depression, anxiety, and increased stress levels. It can contribute to sleep disturbances and lower overall well-being.
3. Brain and Cognitive Function – Research shows that loneliness affects brain structures involved in emotional regulation and social cognition. It can impair memory, focus, and decision-making abilities.
4. Social and Behavioral Effects – Loneliness can create a negative cycle where individuals withdraw from social interactions, making it harder to reconnect. It can also lead to increased reliance on social media, which may or may not alleviate loneliness.
5. Age and Loneliness – While loneliness can affect all ages, it is particularly common among older adults due to factors like retirement, loss of loved ones, and decreased mobility. However, younger generations also report high levels of loneliness, often linked to digital communication replacing in-person interactions.
6. Community and Cultural Factors – Cultures that emphasize strong social connections and intergenerational living tend to have lower levels of loneliness. Social structures, such as community groups and religious organizations, can serve as protective factors.
7. Solutions and Interventions – Effective ways to combat loneliness include fostering meaningful social interactions, engaging in volunteer work, adopting pets, participating in group activities, and seeking therapy when needed. Some studies suggest that structured programs, such as social prescribing (where doctors recommend community activities), can help alleviate loneliness.
I wonder if King Solomon of old known for being very wise had issues arising from his family of origin.
I would not be surprised. Consider: Father: King David. Mother: Bathsheba
Married at the time of Solomon’s birth, their second child.
But David, a favorite of God’s, fell from grace after his lust for Bathsheba got the better of him. He arranged for the murder of her then-husband Uriah, leaving the lovers free to marry.
It was scandalous behavior, and some believe the death of the pair’s firstborn was God’s punishment.
But their second-born child, Solomon, was a gift to all humanity, then, and down to this very day.
Perhaps his passion for “wisdom” stemmed from disastrous decisions his parents made. In any event, Solomon sought out wisdom, prayed for it, respected its truth, followed its teaching.
For all of the wondrous decisions Solomon made, perhaps his greatest wisdom is shown in his seeking God’s help, guidance, in ascertaining the right thing to do. And then doing that.
When I have ceased to break my wings Against the faultiness of things, And learned that compromises wait Behind each hardly opened gate, When I have looked Life in the eyes, Grown calm and very coldly wise, Life will have given me the Truth, And taken in exchange of my youth.