Deacon Speakin'

Its funny how a melody can bring back a memory, putting you in that place and time and pulling in all the good, and sometimes bad in its entirety. Listen to The Good Song Theory and see if you agree.

Elvis Presley had a deep-seeded foundation in his faith and he seemed to be reaching for that when all else was reaching for him, placing him on a pedestal, and calling him King. Deacon Speakin' Episode 132: The Elvis Sermon

We are living in a time of "show me proof." We seem to want something concrete or something at least solid that we can hold, and study, and weigh, and judge, in order to believe it. How can we hear God if we don't know what he sounds like? How can we describe Jesus and say who He is? How can we roll up our sleeves and get to work on faith alone?

When was the last time you saw a good miracle? Can you recall? Can you remember ever seeing a miracle in your lifetime? Maybe you can't. Maybe miracles are those things we only read about in the old days – those things that just don't happen any more...well, I say that's not true!

Some of the storms of life are spring showers while others are categorical hurricanes. As they approach and we anticipate the mark they will leave, we inevitably ask the question, "Will the levee hold?"

Why do people climb mountains? Why do we make the journey, to exert ourselves, to risk a slip or a fall, to challenge our minds and bodies to go up and up. For my friend, Scott, its about the view – that spectacular sight from the top of the mountain. The moments when you appreciate the effort to get to the reward. It is the high points in life.

When the pasture is not looked after, weeds will grow making the grass difficult for the cows to reach. It seems that when the weeds take over the pasture, the cows have to work hard to feed and to get to the good grass. The cow at the fence has discovered sweet grass on the other side.

The basics of story-telling go like this: Take a hero; put him in a tree; throw rocks at him; get him out of the tree. You can't ask that your story end while still in the tree. Perhaps the chapter you are currently living is full of rocks. And they hurt. And there is lots of them. And then you hear God say, "But wait, there's more..."

Why, did God create these animals in the first place. He had to know from the very beginning that we would tame them and bring them close to us and make them part of our families. He had to know that we would grow fond of them and take care of them – removing their animal necessities to survive in the wild and replacing it with decorative collars, cute names, and special dishes. But most of the time, we outlive our pets and it hurts when they are gone.

Why doesn't God talk to the people now like He did in the Old Testament. Why don't we hear from Him? Well – fishes and loaves. Have a listen...Episode 124

In a kindergarten classroom in 1975 Mrs Banta taught an unintentional lesson about life, growing from a small styrofoam cup. Season 3 Episode 123 - Mrs Banta's Marigold

"I want you to be brave because this will not be popular with lots of folks because many of them do not know about me, and many have their own religions, and many of them will try to kill you because of what you believe." "And you may very well die for serving…you may very well be killed for loving me… the same question asked 2000 years ago today - are you ready?"

Now we have faith: we profess our faith ever week at the Mass when we proclaim, "I believe," but can your faith lead you to Jesus for only a touch of His cloak?

The bees mean no harm to the flowers they fuss over and they actually make them better by simply being a part of their lives. To me that is rather biblical. I've not witnessed a bee to be picky in the flowers it chooses to pollinate or to turn away from a flower it thought might be unattractive in some way. I don't believe bees are made this way. And couldn't we learn quite a lot about ourselves in the way the bees behave? In the lives we touch and make better because it is what we were made to do? Bees don't ask, they just do.

People get their spots and apparently they are tattooed deeply beneath the skin. But, I have to disagree with this categorizing and labeling and the finality of "this guy will always be this way, because that is the way he was made…like a leopard."

Graduation day can mean many things to many people, but it is always moving onto something in which you have been prepared for. It marks the moment when the classroom stops and the real world begins.

Appreciation for the basic things will always return more to you than want for the extra.

We hear of things like "the spice of life," and refer to this as something special and added that makes life taste better; things like vacations, family, Church, and life experiences in general. These things often make life taste better as a good spice should, but without the spices, what does life taste like to you?

"You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

If you have raised kids or even been at Mass 15 minutes into a 25 minute homily, you know that kids can get rather vocal and they don't care who knows it. To prune or be pruned...that is the question.

The cornerstone is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation and all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. The integrity of the cornerstone had to be just so in order for it to receive the prestigious designation. After all, there is only one cornerstone in any building.

...I found a coffee can, went to the garden hose, filled the can with water, and placed the crab in it thinking only good thoughts for my new pet. I left the can and the crab outside, because after all, it was a wild creature and wouldn't fare well in the house, and off I went to play in the summer Florida heat...

To mask up or not, to social distance, to listen to politicians or scientists, how do we know what the best decision is for us. What is the consequence of making the wrong decision? Uncertainty can cause us a great level of fear and in the case of Covid has caused amplified and exaggerated anxiety for all ages.

Wilderness is the described as "last wild places on this planet that humans do not control." I believe it is in our nature to control and to steer our own course, especially throughout life. Do you remember riding your bike downhill as a kid and you started to get a shake in your handle bars that kept getting bigger and bigger and you knew you were heading for a crash? Losing control is scary like that and sometimes worse.

Most times when dealing with concrete, the bubble are helped to the surface by the guy working and smoothing the concrete by shaking and vibrating the project. This causes the trapped bubbles to surface more quickly where they are smoothed again. This is repeated until the bubbles stop and the mix is allowed to dry and harden – smooth as glass.

"Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil; and when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." I love this for lots of reasons but mainly because it sums up Lent rather nicely.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous. It is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

The lesson in priorities is not necessarily deciding what to exclude as much as recognizing that all on the list of things to do is important and figuring out how to fit them all in. Yes, being responsible is a juggling act sometimes and the world asks you to juggle chainsaws now and then, so a little care and effort is required.

Everyone seems to be anxious. If not about health or family or stress then about school or work or money…or maybe you know someone who is just anxious about everything – and for no real reason? Season 3 Episode 105

"God, where are you going to be working on me today?" But, not just "working on me," "How will you be working through me, or in me, or with me?" All good prayers to start the day. And, when you start like this, you can't help but notice the answers that he sends you throughout the day.

It's so very hard sometimes to find God in the colorless and the gloomy or in the bleak and wintery. We tend to want to thank God in the sunshine and plead to him in the rain. We dance and we sing in the warm of summer and try our best to survive the winters.

The whittle marks are the flattened spaces where wood is shaved to make the particular shape and features; the edges that give it a characteristic unique to the style. They are the little imperfections that are left by the craftsman and are not easily replicated by any other method. They are what makes the piece of wood a new and unique creation.

Season 3 Episode 101 If only we knew what awaits us, we could be so much better prepared and ready, right? Maybe if we knew what to expect, we could avoid some terribly awful mistakes and save ourselves some heartbreak! I'll pause right here and let you take that in for a second…

Episode 100! So where do we take it in 2021? Once a vaccine settles the dust and gives us possibly a life beyond lockdown; what do we do with these opportunities? We have no doubt formed some new habits with our families throughout the year. Do we go back to those pre-Covid habits

One Christmas in 1980 we made homemade cookies to give my Grandma who lived across the pasture from us. None of us could have imagined her reaction when we handed her the box...

"You have never seen the like of me before? Come in and know me better, man!" What great words to hear!

Here's a repost of one of the most downloaded podcasts of 2020. This is from December 01, 2019: "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. And when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

"Who are you?" Ask yourself that and consider your answer. What are you pointing to when you identify yourself? What opportunity are you taking with the questions posed to you?

"The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness." hallow.com/deaconspeakin for the Hallow App!

What's the deal with Advent anyway? We seem to throw that word around this time every year and it feels kinda special when we talk about it. I mean who doesn't love a good advent calendar anyway? Seriously, a calendar with little window that have compartments of chocolate inside them? And you do it every day from December first until the 25th! Yeah, Advent, pardon the pun…sounds pretty sweet.

I think Thanksgiving gets a really short window of opportunity to be recognized since Halloween basically ushers in the holiday season and makes people start looking forward to Christmas. Its like the Jan Brady of holidays.

Many do not realize their talents until much later in life, others at a very young age, and some spend their lives thinking they have none. The truth is that we all have something of talent, and we all have a way to contribute that talent to glorify God. You need only to explore and have an intention to serve.

While we put all our focus and hedge our bets on our new and latest Ceasar…where is God? Did we leave Him waiting in the lurches? Did we even buy Him a ticket to the race or to the game we are watching? We have made comments that we want the best man; the most good and ethical, to win; but, did we bring "good and ethical" with us to the game.

I encourage you to take your season and look at it in the proper frame. Your winter is someone else's summer and their winter is likewise your summer. When you view this from this perspective you might realize that God gives gifts of all kinds in very different packages and at very different times.

So, what about the issues? Politicians should be about the issues first shouldn't they? I mean, these are the things that govern us, that affect our freedoms, and simply provide us our opportunities right? Why would I sacrifice that for a punch in the head when a punch in the gut won't feel much better?

Without the noise, you cannot help but hear better, you cannot help but listen better…you cannot help but be better.

Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Our calling is to move our feet in the direction of God. That will look differently for all of us.

What is the biggest headline to hit this past week? Oh, let's check – yep, it's the leader of the free world contracting COVID19. Head's are exploding around the world with this news. The most powerful and influential man in the world contracts the virus that has all but crippled the planet and caused worry, uncertainty, and fear to most all of us. What will happen to him? What will happen to us? What does the future hold?

If you are feeling something heavy in your life right now – try your best to put it down. If only for the length of this podcast, lay down the weight and if when we close up for the day and you feel like it is necessary to pick it back up, then do so. But, for now lay down your worries and if you want to leave them here, you certainly can – I've got plenty of room.

We are a cyber-focused society these days and if we are not looking for it on a device of some sort, it is fed to us based on our search choices and browsing patterns. This amplifies the noise and offers you more and more of what the world thinks you want. It is instant, it is immediate, and it is shallow and superficial. What does your search history say about you?