Support from the readership is wonderful.

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It’s a strange little world when you blog. It’s even stranger when you blog and write novels. It’s completely unhinged when you blog, write novels, are Santa, and do voice over work as well as acting. Your sense of self and accomplishment becomes strangely diminished because you have your feet in so many parts of that Venn diagram that is life. It is a constant blur of footwork trying to avoid falling down or floating off in the breeze.

And you, dear readers, help me with that grounding.  I try to write at least three days a week, often more. But today was one of those days where I really didn’t anticipate posting much, if anything. Yet two emails and a personal word of encouragement from a coworker inspired me to write five pieces. Not that they’ll all appear this weekend, but they are now ideas to go forward with this week.

Add to that a silly chat session on Facebook that has given me the plot for a really frightening novel. It’s part science fiction, part occult, mainly Christian. I think even my A.C.F.W. colleagues will approve of it if I get it done. And given the series of doors God has opened in the 72 hours since I came up with the idea it seems to be pretty much written in stone that I churn this book out. The best part?  I can probably write off a trip to Jerusalem for research. Yeah, baby!

So, please feel at ease in sending me emails and comments on the blog. You don’t have to send it to me for posting, you can send it to me at joseph AT commotioninthepews dot com. (Yeah, I had to do the @ AT thing to avoid the trove of Viagra ads my inbox would otherwise fill up with.) I’d love to hear from you. Even if it’s criticism. Of course I have my filters set to remove all the really nasty stuff before it shows up.

Thanks for reading. It really does mean a lot to me.

 

Change scares people.

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My workplace is undergoing a reorganization during the next month. That’s corporate speak for “52 pick up” with jobs.

Some will move here, some will move there, I will be told where to go because I have no seniority. From my vantage point it’s like I’m the mouse in the corner trying not to get crushed while the elephants all trumpet, stomp, and charge around looking for the best place.

I think many of us find our path to salvation a similarly scary one. We certainly dont’ start out with a clear idea of where we will wind up. Our first church, or two, may be a bad fit but it’s a place to be while we grow and learn. After some misadventures along the way we find a comfort zone and then work on our Christian skills in a cozy setting.

But that initial blast of trumpeting and the floor shaking as our world upends is terribly frightening.

Are you at the mouse or the elephant stage in your Christian journey? Can you pick your way through the forest of legs and feet smashing down and find a place to grow on your own? And do you even aspire to be one of the thundering herd, or are you content quietly nibbling on cheese in the corner?

I love unusual invitations.

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Being involved with a number of charitable endeavors (reminds you of Thurston Howell III, eh?) I get invitations to quite a few events each year. Most are fund raisers that are way out of my league but it is nice to be invited. Others are pot luck suppers. Sometimes it’s just a monthly meeting that includes Swedish meatball suppers.

Here’s one I really liked from the Union Gospel Mission:

Invitations are a nice thing to get.

We made a donation last year to support the construction of the new facility. Couldn’t attend the open house but loved getting the invitation.  Probably the most unusual invitation I’ve gotten in the last 10 years.

What unusual invitations have you found in your mail this year?  What are you doing in your life to promote those fun and different events?

 

I knew I’d heard that line somewhere before.

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When I heard the esteemed Hillary Rodham Clinton testify the other day I was sure I’d heard her speak that line before. I just couldn’t place it at the time.

Well shiver me timbers, I found it. Skip to the 3:41 mark in this clip and you’ll find the root of her amazing performance in front of the American people the other day. Feel free to watch the whole movie when you get the chance, it’s Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, Marnie (1964). He could have called it Hillary. After all, she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary, she’s a lucky cattle futures trader, brilliant land investor, faithful wife, veteran of sniper fire in Yugoslavia, and the list goes on.

I wonder if Hitchcock knew her or was just foretelling the future.

What’s the point of my showing this clip? I don’t like being lied to about events that result in the death of American ambassadors, body guards, or anyone else representing my country abroad. And the lies about Benghazi, Libya are legion. This woman, and all those above her in the chain of command, have lied to the American People and expect to get away with it because you have a short attention span and will side with a woman who’s being bullied by evil Republicans. Watch this clip and then evaluate what she did. She was acting. And she’s a lousy actress. The smirk on her face gives it away.

I will continue to write about Benghazi on occasion until the truth comes out. Am I a “hater”? Yes. I hate officials who play me for a subject, not a citizen. This woman has never, to my knowledge, told the whole truth about anything she’s done in the public eye. And she has been forgiven over and over because she’s tired, she’s under pressure, she has a concussion, she’s dehydrated, she’s… fill in the blank. If you or I did anything like this our employer would fire us in moments. Yet she keeps moving up the chain. Kind of puzzling, eh?

Sadly I don’t think that the truth about Benghazi will be in front of us for the next few dozen years. And if Hillary runs for president, her stooges in the press will bury the incident under a pile of accusations against everyone else.

End of input for today.

I love having a blog.

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Today’s post is a great example of why people like me shouldn’t have a blog. Because having a blog allows you to do silly things like say:

Hi Mom! Larry and I love you.

Just a casual photo with Larry the Bear.

Yes, the running joke is that my mom befriended a bear on her trip to Alaska. He now visits her in Florida and I found him wandering around REI yesterday while shopping for supplies for our upcoming mission trip.

Which reminds me – I’m going to Haiti for a mission in the next few months. You can find out a lot about the organization by visiting healinghaiti.org. We’ve been planning this for about 4 months and while I’m not yet taking the malaria medicine in preparation for the trip, I am getting ready in spiritual ways. This one looks to be more of a challenge than last year’s trip to Belize. The main reason is that we’re taking a different focus on this trip. In Belize we were there to support a Christian broadcasters conference. This trip we’re there strictly in a servant role for whatever the organization needs. Working in wound clinics, visiting orphanages, working a water truck, and visiting hospice facilities.

I am still kind of blown away at being a born again Christian and the changes it has meant in my life. I’m still a terrible reprobate in some ways, shame sailors with my mouth on occasion and engage in silly squabbles. But there’s a part of me that’s never been more alive. A part of me that feels that love of Christ that is promised in the Bible.

And that’s the part of me that’s going to Haiti. (I’m bringing the sailor part along to haul all the supplies. He’s used to a 75 pound seabag on his back. Let him lug the stupid thing.)

I’ll write about it while I’m there and then post a series here. We have a member of the team who’s a professional photographer and they will be documenting the trip. I’ll provide photos and links to photos upon my return.

Not leaving yet, not even close. But it seems to loom large on the horizon. I’m excited. And a little nervous. I just hope to present myself in accordance with Christ’s wishes. And I plan on leaving the sailor at the mission house.

Is there a “sailor” part of you that conflicts with your identity as a Christian? Is that part of you integral to your salvation? Did the lessons learned in that life help with this one? And is there a mission trip in your future?

No matter what, say hi to Larry the bear when you see him with my mom. They’ll be sharing some Salmon out on her Lanai.