The Half Way Church

"Thanks for giving me a shift on Thanksgiving" -- What do you think about those who have to work tomorrow?

Here we go.
The Christmas, I mean "Holiday" Shopping Season is about to start.

Actually, it seems to have started sometime in October, with pre-black Friday sales at Lowe's and Walmart, tree decorations in Sears before Halloween, and ads stuffing my newspaper and mailbox.

Traditionally, retail stores have started the big push the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday for most stores meant an early opening at 7 a.m. or even 5 a.m. for die hards. But all norms are off this year. Stores like Target, Kohl's, and others are opening at midnight on Thanksgiving night. Toy's R Us is upping the ante and opening at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

That's too early for workers, who must sleep during the day if they are to work all night. And to me, it just seems insane to shop for a pair of gloves or buy a Blu-Ray player on Thanksgiving Day.

Most of all, the workers are the ones to pity for our binge buying. They are the ones who are paid far too little, and yet have to leave their families so we can get bargains.

One man, Anthony Hardwick who is a parking lot attendant for Target in Omaha, took it to the cyber-sphere and started a petition, which as garnered thousands of signatures. Most won't be so bold. Happy to have a joy, they'll just show up, coffee mug in hand and scan items and ask if customers would like to partipate in yet another rewards program.

The petition says this. "A midnight opening robs the hourly and in-store salary workers of time off with their families on Thanksgiving Day.  By opening the doors at midnight, Target is requiring team members to be in the store by 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation -- all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night's rest on Thanksgiving!"

I for one, hope the early opening is a big, fat bust. While I am a fan of capitalism, I'm hoping that this time, the stores who participate in this won't make any money and it will go down in business annals as a bad move..

What do you think? Will you be participating?

Does your job have you down? Here's how to give thanks

These days, the workplace for many has a certain sense of gloom. The economy hasn’t treated most of us well.

Cutbacks, reductions and less benefits are the norm.



Image by Ben Fredericson.
Used with permission. Sourced via Flickr.



Many of my friends have gone from the rolls of short-term unemployed to long-term. Others are underemployed, finding work as temps or part time workers, benefits trimmed or stripped outright.

And for those that are still working, they have to do way more with way less.

Rather than let our employment challenges drag us down, let's take back the workplace for God’s glory, through an attitude of gratitude. “In all things give thanks.”

First of all, I’m thankful I even have a job.

I’m thankful for the challenge, and even the frustrations.
I’m thankful for the out-of-control schedule
I’m thankful for my coworkers.
I’m thankful for every penny that my employer sends my way.

In every way, I’m grateful for this job.

Read this full post over at The High Calling. Click here.

Care to comment? How's your job going? Grateful?

How to see the gain through the pain

In this traditional week of thanks, it's not always easy for everyone to find gratitude. In fact, for some, there is a tendency for us to focus on the things we've lost.

For me, there is a nagging voice that tries to tell me to surround myself with the cloak of pity, to cower and hide in the dark. I 've lost a life-long love to the world. I love lost both of my parents to death. I've lost friends to their own selfishness. Even my dog died. Sounds like a bad country song...

But when I focus on the loss, I miss out on the gain. And I must admit, I haven't always seen clearly the gifts I've been given.


Photo courtesy of caitlin marie♥



Ann Voskamp, High Calling editor and writer of One Thousand Gifts was recently interviewed by World Mmagazine. Commenting on God's sustainence of the Israelites on manna,  she reminded us that the word literally means, "What is it?"

I can imagine the wandering nation, with their daily bread miraculously appearing out of nowhere. Yet, they had no home. They had lost so much. They would look skyward, quizzically stating,  "We dont' understand. This isn't what we were expecting."

Ann said this. "We can be sustained in situations where we don't understand the why, but we can trust the Who."

That's what has propelled me forward. While I have lost things, I have gained so much. I have friends. I have life. I have opportunity. I have a future.

While not all of this is vividly clear, I can trust that God has it in control, that there is a whole reality that I'm gaining, day by day.

Care to comment?

Flippin church

Chasing the wrong talent

Most of us spend our lives just trying to figure out where we belong. And we waste too much time of that time pursuing something or someone that we’re not. Because a father was a good businessman, a friend of mine started a business – and failed. I know others who have gone into medicine or law or the arts, because they’ve been expected to and been miserable.

Chris Patton blogs at Christian Faith at Work and he recently talked about the boy David, who was outfitted with Saul’s armor to combat Goliath. It didn’t fit. It cramped his style. It redefined who he was. So he he shed it, wore his shepherder's clothing, and he killed a giant.

“If I am not gifted to teach, but I insist on doing so, what kind of results will I get?” Chris asks. “I may like the idea of teaching, but if God has not gifted me for it, that is not where I will be most effective.”

How many of us are in the wrong job, wrong ministry or wrong place in life? Read the rest of the post,Pursue the Gifts You Have, Not the One’s You Want. 

What does pie have to do with faith?

I do love pie.

As a boy, I was fed regular doses of berry pies -- blackberry, blueberry and raspberry. And oh, my cheeks were stuffed with pumpkin and rhubarb. And the real treats were the cream pies, with a bent for banana and coconut. Mince meat? Forget it.

So naturally, I was glued to Parade magazine's tribute to pie this weekend. 

In the article, they revealed the fact that one in five Americans have eaten an entire pie by themselves. Shocked at this? Well, I’ve eaten a pie by myself – at one sitting.

“Pie makes people happy,” the article says. It's true. Just say the word and I smile.

"Pie symbolizes everything we value: ingenuity, resilience, and a mother’s love.”

Pie takes me back. It takes me back to Grandma, with her perfect lattice top with crunchy bits of sugar sprinkled on the golden dough, hiding gooey apples.

It takes me back to dark winter nights and cold milk with crumbs on the chair after I left the table.

With smeared index cards, we try to relive those days. The ingredients are familiar to any cook, but the portions are customized with an alchemist precision. They are often protected, rarely duplicated. Success is marked by flour on the counter, flour on the kids and flour on the dog. 

Parade also asked the question, "What does your favorite pie say about you?” The choices are apple, pecan, chocolate and pumpkin. 

Who knows what psychologist they employed to analyze pie eaters, but here's the summary.

If you're favorite is apple, you are independent, realistic and compassionate

If it's pecan, you're thoughtful and analytical

If chocolate is yours, then you are loving

And pumpkin? You're funny and independent

So what does this have to do with faith?

Nothing. 

And everything.

You tell me. 

By the way. I love pumpkin.  

And I am so grateful for the simple joy of pie.Over at Faith Barista, Bonnie Gray is hosting a blog carnival on faith, and the prompt for this week is “gratitude.” 

Exciting church -- or is it?

The reluctant optimist

I love the news.

In fact, my radio dial doesn’t even know there’s an FM, that wonderful invention introduced 60 years ago. Stuck in a world of the latest happenings, I’m following the trends of the moment.  I listen to commentary and debate and all the swirling gestures of a world gone crazy. I watch the news at home and read the paper in the morning. Go ahead, ask me. I'll tell you the latest.

But it’s dragging me down.

Obama, Romney, and Cain – what a pain! France, Iraq, and Greece – I need release! Housing, economy and jobs – just makes my head hurt!

Yes, I know that I’m a citizen and need to be informed and engaged. I know that I cannot operate in a vaccum, a self imposed exile away from the cares of my planet.

But this isn’t me.

I’m an optimist. I see things in bright colors. I look for the sliver of light on a cloudy day, a single star in 

the darkest night. That’s who I am.

But I’m often reluctant to express the hope, the joy that used to drive my heart. I hold back because there’s so much bad news. The economy, the political scene, and the world all seems to be falling apart. 

Yet deep within me there is a spring, a desire to tell the world. “It’s going to work out.” You see, I have a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who can reach across time, who can change hearts. I have a God who never gave up on me -- or you.

I'm a reluctant optimist. And I shouldn't be.

Walk the talk

Most Americans claim a faith. Most bury it, under the anonymity of a "private" faith. We just don't talk about it. There's  a variety of reasons why, but one is the fear of falling into the ranks of hypocrisy. We want our actions to match our words.

We have all seen the those who stand on the pedestal and shout their faith without any regard to how their actions relate. How many of these vocal believers have poor workplace habits, shaky ethics, and worldly behavior. For some, it does a disservice to our Lord to be a proclaimer. They should first be seen, and then be heard.

A friend of mine wrote me about the intersection of his workplace and his faith.

One of his extra duties is to publish a newsletter for the several hundred people at his plant. He says this "I’m sure you understand that I have to be careful about what I say and don’t say directly in the paper…but, I always find ways to at least point in the direction I’m alluding to-----upward to the Glory of God and Christ."

And from what I know, he does. He is not one of these silent witnesses that could be mistaken for just another 'nice guy.'His faith has transformed the way he works -- not just what he says.

There is a key difference. He continues, "My life would be absolutely and totally empty without Jesus…it took me a few years to realize this and God allowed me a lot of grace until I finally came to this point in my life---but, now I understand it in my heart. "

That's what being a Red Letter Believer is all about. Letting God change your heart first, then your mind, and then your body. The workplace, your neighborhood, and your family desperately needs people who are transformed -- totally and thoroughly. 

Then again, I don't hear many people talking about their faith. So what gives?

I guess people really don't care about apathy

“What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy? ”“I don’t know and I don’t care. -- Mother Goose and Grimm


"I, the devil, will always see to it that there are bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with the people who do not care." -- The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis

As much as we would like to say we care about the world around us, our actions tell us otherwise.

Photo by  Vinetomato

Despite our verbal fervor for all things right and true, when push comes to shove, We shirk our duties. We shrink from hard truth. We fade away in the bright light.

We just don't care.

Apathy attacks our core, it destroys our good intentions, it muddies our motives. It derails our passion.

But Jesus had something to say about apathy -- and it's something he can't stand. Either be hot. Or you can be cold. But dancing around, walking the fence, toeing the line, straddling both sides is like spit from the Savior.

What do you think about apathy?

None of that stuff matters

You've always dreamt about a big idea. Perhaps it's small to everyone else, but to you, it's a ginormous obstacle that you just can't get over. 

You may be afraid, which is natural. Afraid of criticism. Afraid of failure. Afraid you just don't have what it takes.

And you're full of excuses, which means you'll never have a chance to succeed -- or fail.

So you go through your whole life wondering, waiting, hoping. But nothing gets done because you never pull the trigger, you never take the leap.

You might feel that the circumstances are against you -- you are too old, too young, too poor, too inexperienced -- to make it happen.

For me, I've always imagined the enemies -- those that will oppose me in spirit or by will. Those who will criticize me or take my past and twist it, finding a way to strangle any effort.
Fill in the blank. I know I have. I can tick them off, one-by-one, all the reaons why I don't or can't or won't. 

But here's some good news. 



 Image courtesy of Pitel

None of that matters.

We are told that God chose the foolish things of the world, to shame the wise.

He chose the weak things of the world, to shame the strong.

He chose you.

He chose me.

Not for any special gift or talent, ability or power.

Because we are His. That's all.

Really, we have no excuse.

And this video is a powerful one. Start watching it at the 34 minute mark. It is amazing, especially when you listen to the context at the end.