Johnnybwha's Blog

The Simplicity of Grape Jelly

johnnybwha — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 04:07:12 +0000

I really like, like grape jelly (Can’t say love. That’s reserved for my family, friends and God. And, yes, I put them all in the same category. And, yes, I believe God is good with that. Actually, I believe that it makes God all giggly, happy). I was making myself a pbj for lunch and realized how much I had missed the simplicity of grape jelly because I had gotten off into fancy jams, preserves and all that. Grape jelly reminded me of the simplicity of childhood. Then I thought that maybe so many of us miss childhood because it was so simple then. Grape jelly, jungle gyms and a good friend or two was all we needed.

Then we get to where it seems to take so much more to really please us, to make us happy. We need all the stuff. We need one more of the thing. I don’t know that life GETS complicated so much as we just MAKE or CHOOSE complicated.

I miss grape jelly.

A Shrinking World

johnnybwha — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 03:49:51 +0000

They tell me the world is getting smaller. They say the Internet has done that. I don’t think they are right… whoever the theys are. I think that it’s more about a world devoid of giants. Our world used to be filled with giants. People like Jimmy Stewart and Barbara Jordan, John Wooden and Katherine Hepburn … and my dad. People who were bigger than life. In that world even the mundane seemed extraordinary.

We don’t have a lot of giants left. We live in a world of ok. We live in a world where average amazes … where giants have little or no substance. Our giants are nothing more than slightly oversized Lilliputians. Neither of our last two presidents are giants, and I voted for both. None of our actors or actresses are giants. Merely small people playing big roles.

I’m no giant. I far too often allow my thoughts and ideas to be dismissed. Or I dismiss them myself. No, I’m no giant. I miss giants.

1n6 Go Hungry… Shame on Us!

johnnybwha — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:23:07 +0000

How can this be possible? With the number of Christians in the world who claim to follow the one who fed thousands with loaves and fish, how can we honestly call ourselves the Church and allow one in six people in the world to go hungry? ONE IN SIX! ONE BILLION PEOPLE! Who do we think we are? Are we kidding ourselves? We put WWJD on bracelets and slip ‘em on our wrists and we fail to hear the cry of the oppressed and broken? Shame on us. We are no people of grace. Truth be told, I’m not sure we deserve the name Christian. We spend more time worrying about numbers in our pews and making sure they are not “one of those” than we do in dealing with the things that break God’s heart. Shame on us. We worry more about the sexual identity of someone than whether she or he is fed and housed. SHAME ON US! If I used the ‘s’ word that rhymes with bucks, I would say we Christians ‘S’ large! ONE IN SIX PEOPLE!!! God IS good… not sure about us.

When life falls apart…

johnnybwha — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:08:58 +0000

There are times in life when things start to crumble… your world falls apart before you, around you, beneath you… and there’s not a blasted thing you can do. Your first reaction is disbelief, then fear, then tears, then anger… and there’s not a blasted thing you can do. Try as you will, your heart breaks, your limbs go limp, and your brain loses center… and there’s not a blasted thing you can do. About the third day you are quite sure you are going insane… and there’s not a blasted thing you can do. THAT is when I know that God is real. Given all that is spinning out of control and flying apart, there is no other explanation as to why I do not do the same. It is only the presence of a loving, nurturing Creator who holds me together. If in the midst of hell I can still recognize my blessing, it is because God is.

Hope

johnnybwha — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:47:02 +0000

Hope lives on in the dreams of children then is given wings in the hearts of adults who refuse to believe the old days were all that good.

Just Stupid Like That

johnnybwha — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:43:06 +0000

Some people are just stupid like that. Stupid enough to believe that the world can change for the better. Stupid enough to believe that love can last forever. Stupid enough to believe that we can live into our common realities. Stupid enough to believe that I don’t have to hate you because of our differences. Stupid enough to believe that there is something greater than me. Stupid enough to believe that the poor don’t have to be poor always. Stupid enough to believe that we will care enough to make sure that the last sentence is true. Stupid enough to believe that a small group of passionate people can make an impact on apathy. Stupid enough to believe that all that is is not all that is. Stupid enough to believe that it’s okay to believe differently… and still love. Stupid enough to believe that you have intrinsic value. Stupid enough to believe that you matter deeply. Some people are just stupid like that. Call me stupid.

The Main

johnnybwha — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:53:38 +0000

I’m just wondering, with all we have in common why is it that the Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Christians (my little corner of the faith world) find so little to agree on. The more I read and study, the less separates us and yet we let the beauty of our diversity stand between us and our greater unity. And with all the brokenness in the world… THAT is the great sin. We could be doing so dang much to heal if we would come together. We could unite to end poverty, hunger, oppression, and all sorts of evil. And yet…

Destiny and Definitions

johnnybwha — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:00:22 +0000

This from a work by Renita Weems, “As the wife of Abram, who was a socially prominent and successful herdsman, Sarai was a wealthy woman in her community. As a Hebrew mistress, she was a woman of immense economic standing. But Sarai was barren. And in the culture in which Sarai lived, a woman’s womb was her destiny.” What is it that defines me? What is it within me that, like Sarai’s womb, will be how others see and define me both today and in the future? And what of you? We have control over much that defines us but there are still pieces of who we are by birth over which we have no control. But we can control how we perceive, receive and project those realities that are not within our immediate control. Is it possible to live a life of blessedness amidst a world of poverty? Is it possible to see one’s self as real in a world where reality is far too often virtual?

It seems to me that we can cave to the definition-by-other by default. We allow how others see us to form and shape us. We allow the emptiness of our own self-definition to be filled by the emptiness of the cult of other. Our lives are marked by failure because of someone else’s success. Our heart is broken by a boyfriend/girlfriend and we allow it to remain broken because our value was wrapped up in her/his perception of us and when he or she no longer has use of us, we must no longer be useful. What a load! In the end it was not Sarai’s womb that defined her, it was the image of the Creator within Sarai. Each of us is intrinsically good and has the image of the divine creator within – and that is our defining reality. How will I respond to that reality within me? More importantly… how will I respond to that reality within you and others?