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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
motivation

Order and Chaos

Background of a pile of leaves. The text says, "Order and Chaos."

Each day, we have an opportunity to bring order from chaotic circumstances. If you leave things as is, chaos soon becomes the norm.

  • A city street eventually becomes filled with potholes and debris.
  • Buildings breaks down over time and needs repair
  • Unopened email soon explodes into thousands of unread bits and bytes
  • A pile of unraked leaves kills the grass underneath
  • An unscooped litterbox causes the cat to do the unthinkable behind the bed
  • The pile of dirty dishes becomes a calcified mass of gunk

Some of us can deal with a little more chaos than others. But most of us can agree that all chaos, all the time is stressful and unproductive. There is something in all of us that wants to understand, categorize and order things.

We value systems that bring order. Language is a system that allows us to communicate. The written form of that language has a slightly different system. We like to turn on the TV and reliably get a channel that we like. It would be very disconcerting if everyone you knew began speaking differently or writing in some unknown code. If your favorite channel was on one number one day, and another the next, it would get frustrating.

We like systems. We like to categorize people and things. And we like to believe that everything that is good and bad can be understood. And if an answer doesn’t come easily, we like to manufacture a reason. We assume we know the motives of someone we don’t even know. We continually tell ourselves stories about people and actions out of our control.

As a result, I can assume the best about someone or the worst. I can make assumptions based on the stories I tell myself that may be correct or way off. It’s my little attempt to bring order out of chaos. But are those stories helpful if they assume the worst?

Our stories can assume the best or the worst in people and events. Sometimes, we need to realize our stories are just that—stories. We can assume the best or the worst. Both carried to the extreme can lead you astray. The challenge is to assume the best in others while keeping oneself from denying when something needs to change.

How does one bring order out of chaos in an accurate, realistic way even when we don’t have all the facts? Are the stories we tell ourselves accurate? That is the question I am pondering today.

Categories
motivation

Do You Spend More Time in the Past or Future?

Do you spend more time in the past or the future?

Neither the past nor the future is a reality right now. The present moment is what we have today. Yet, it’s strange, isn’t it? You are reading this after I spent time in the past writing it. An action I did in the past results in another action right now.

I am thankful for my past. But like everyone, I have my regrets. There are things I would’ve done differently if given the chance. I uttered words and did things that in light of today, weren’t the best choices. I have grown from where I was. After all, the insight of a ten-year-old is much different than that of a forty-year-old!

I can’t change the past, but my perception of it changes over time. Science tells us our memories may have been distorted over time. We reminisce about the good old days but forget the challenges we had then.

The future is hazy. No one can predict it with one hundred percent accuracy. If a pandemic taught us anything, it’s that the future is far from certain. We can make plans, but they are always subject to change.

I tend to think more about the future. I can’t change the past, but I can make investments that could pay off later. An encouraging word in a blog, a helping hand to someone in need, and a positive growth mindset can pay off later. It’s not certain, but the lack of any kind of future investment certainly is.

If you sow seed in the present, at least some of it will bring a harvest in the future. Some may succumb to bad conditions. That is the risk you take. But not sowing seed is certain to bring a barren season.

So while I honor my past, I will use the present to sow investments in the future. And I hope you will too!

Categories
motivation

The Most Important Career Advice

The most important career advice

What happens when rejection comes? If you go for an interview or try something new that you are not perfect at, how do you persist to the breakthrough and to success?

This Forbes article by Jack Kelly nails what most of us know but when negative feelings come, is so hard to put into practice. Push past the feelings and believe in yourself.

“When these things happen, you need to have hope. You must rewire your brain to think positively.”

Jack Kelly

It comes back to faith and hope. That’s easier said than done, isn’t it? When the past and present evidence seems stacked against you, it’s tempting to believe this slump will always be this way.

Five years ago, I needed to hear this. A business venture failed, A move to another state didn’t pan out. Just when I thought I found my niche in one state, we had to head back to another because my wife had a job that paid more and was a better fit for her. It was a very trying time as I attempted to find my place after living in three states in three years.

We tend to believe that the past dictates the future. It does not. Sure the emotional baggage is strong. We tend to see past misfortune as evidence. And the evidence is indisputable, right?

Wrong! The past happened. Your future hasn’t. It is just as likely your future is positive and full of blessing as it is to be negative and barren. Have the hope that your future will be brighter. And have the faith to take positive steps to make that hope a reality.

I eventually found work in what I had hoped for all the time. Today, I am so glad I held on. If you’re going through a tough time. Keep your hope and faith alive!

It will get you through those times when disappointment comes. Short-term, you may have setbacks. But long-term, you will make it through this!

Categories
motivation

The Difference Between Hope and Faith

Difference between Faith and Hope

I’ve often thought these two words were two aspects of the same concept. I thought it was redundant when I heard, “These three remain: faith, hope, and love.” It’s easy to tell the difference between hope and despair, but faith and hope?

Faith involves the past and present. It provokes action. Faith without works is dead, after all! If you really have faith in something or someone, you will take actions that prove your trust. Faith gives the courage to face tough circumstances. Someone is faithful because they trust what they put faith in will come through.

Hope looks to the future. When you put faith to work, hope allows you to see what will happen in the future. Hope feeds into faith. Zig Ziglar had a great quote about hope.

“When there is hope in the future, there is power in the present.”

Zig Ziglar

Faith and hope work together. Hope says change is possible. Faith says you can do something today to influence that hope and fulfill a vision.

May you be filled with hope and faith today. They make each day better and more powerful.