Category: holiday

Categories
holiday Quotes

A Prayer of Gratitude

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” Meister Eckhart

Today, in the United States, most of us will be gathering around a table and offering a prayer of gratitude. The two simple words of thank you can do amazing things.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.

Meister Eckhart

A prayer of thanks changes us. We can come to God with no agenda and just simply express gratitude. It reminds us of what we do have and humbles us enough to realize we are more dependent than we would like to think.

All of us have wants and needs. On the other hand, if someone only comes to us when they want something, we start to dread the next encounter. None of us like a relationship where the other person is a taker.

Today, let us give thanks. Give thanks in prayer, and also give thanks to those around us. We rely on others much more than we would like to admit. Let us give thanks in prayer and in the words we give to others.

Think about why someone dear to you is so dear. Tell them. If it is too hard, we can just say, “Thank you.” If they ask what for, just tell them that they mean so much to us. A memory of past generosity is good, but not necessary. Just thank someone for the blessing they are. It does our heart, and the heart of the recipient of our gratitude, a good thing.

Categories
church cartoons holiday

We Gather Together

We Gather Together Headline

Thanksgiving is coming in the United States. So there is nothing better for me than to dole out another Thanksgiving cartoon! It’s like an extra helping of oyster dressing and cranberry salad.

The church I grew up in felt obligated to sing We Gather Together each Thanksgiving season. The challenge was that the worship leader would sing it the Sunday before the holiday. To a child, that seemed an eternity away. We might as well sing a Christmas Carol while we were at it! Of course, that came the next Sunday. My poor immature mind couldn’t take this hymnal time warp every season.

The hymn wasn’t exactly kid-friendly either. The first verse was a lot to take in. There isn’t even a chorus! It didn’t exactly roll off the tongue for me.

“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.”

Theodore Baker 1894

So this year, I decided to modernize it a bit. Here is my version:

Cartoon of a couple singing a hymn. It's a parody of "We Gather Together."
Published in the November 2021 CHOGNews.

I realize “scones” is a little high class. But “donuts” didn’t have the same ring to it. Besides, I know a dear lady at one of our previous churches that makes the best scones. Whenever I bit into one, I felt quite grateful.

So have a happy Thanksgiving! enjoy a warm gathering and some scones. It may cause you to break out in singing.

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

Categories
holiday

Happy Hallow-Reformation Day!

A flock of birds flying from a cornfield to some trees

Happy Halloween(or Reformation Day)! Yesterday on my run, I encountered what must have been hundreds of birds. As I ran by a cornfield, I heard dozens of wings flutter and a flock took off for the safety of some trees. If it was darker, it would have been a perfectly spooky end of the day.

As I jogged along, I saw and heard more birds. They were chattering while trying to stay warm and dry. I thought about the upcoming winter. The number of birds will be dwindling soon as the cold and short food supplies will test them all.

We experience cycles of life, testing, and death all the time. The days are getting darker and colder where I live. Yet, in six months, it will be a time of rebirth and renewal. It will be a little reformation of the world around us.

Stay safe tonight! Know that no matter how dark things appear, no matter how many ghosts and ghouls come knocking, there will be brighter days ahead. Instead of being part of the dark, be part of the light. May you have a little reformation in your soul and be renewed today.

Categories
Christmas church cartoons holiday

Where can pastors find sermon inspiration this year?

Cartoon of a pastor staring at an Elf on the Shelf. He says, "Don't just sit there. I need a sermon illustration!"

This has been a challenging season for everyone. No matter how you slice it, inspiration has been hard to come by. It has been especially so for pastors. Where can pastors find sermon inspiration during COVID-19? There are so many questions they have to deal with.

  • How do you inspire and minister to others when you are forced to pivot to all video services?
  • Who can you call on when you and half your congregation needs tech support in order to view a church service?
  • What happens when you are dealing with the virus in your own family?
  • How can you administer pastoral care when you can’t visit a parishioner in the hospital?
  • What do you do when the two biggest holidays in the church calendar are threatened by this virus? (Looks like Easter and Christmas services will be virtual at my church)
  • Do you address the whole vaccine controversy?

I thought about all these things when I had the idea for this cartoon. It’s must be a challenging time to come up with some sermon inspiration that would bring on a chuckle, yet address some hard issues we’ve all faced this year.

We had such high hopes at the beginning of this year. I was thinking about risk and reward earlier this year. Who knew the risks for 2020 would be so much more prominent than whatever reward we envisioned?

Here’s to next year! May there be some relief for everyone, including the men and women that have had to deal with their own stuff while ministering to others! In the meantime, I do hope all the pastors find some sermon inspiration during COVID-19. Maybe the elf on the shelf could offer some mirth. After all, he shows up in the most curious places.

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

Cartoon of a pastor staring at an Elf on the Shelf. He says, "Don't just sit there. I need a sermon illustration!"
Categories
Business Business Cartoons holiday motivation

Administrative Professionals Day, and Earth Day

Cartoon of a man giving his computer flowers

This year is a different kind of Administrative Professionals Day. Many administrative professionals are working from home thanks to the coronavirus. Some are working the frontlines of essential businesses and keeping visitors from entering a facility without the necessary health precautions.

This year, Earth Day and Administrative Professionals Day fall on the same day. So if you have an administrative professional, this would be an entirely appropriate time to get them some flowers or a hearty plant. We all need a little nature as we stay huddled together in our humble abodes.

So thank you to all the administrators that make things happen behind the scenes. And thank you to a planet that needs some tender loving care. We couldn’t make it without either one of you.

Cartoon of a man giving his computer flowers