A Pilgrim’s Odyssey

We Live In Alternate Universes

Hebrews 10:24-25

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Yesterday we talked about a fast from technology and the rat-race. Today I was reminded why in a conversation with a friend. We live in a world of alternate universes!

For a variety of factors – work, lifestyle, education, and where I grew up, I have a ton of friends who are liberals, a ton who are conservatives, and a ton in the middle. They are increasingly living in alternate universes with way get information and the lens through which they process it. Because most interaction today is electronic, that forces the conversations to be very black and white, and very confrontational when you encounter the other universe. It is is insanity, because we really have much more in common than we have in dispute, yet dispute and division drives politics and the media and in turn us.

But when you put away the noise, what are you left with? Well, they are the things that unite us.

Friends, family, sports, hobbies, nature, work, food, etc.

But even in a world of division, here is some great advice on creating harmony in your community:

Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”

Resetting Your Soul: A Fast From Technology & The Rat Race

It is "fast" crazy in my house. From my college daughter to my wife, fasting to cure and reset all sorts of things seems to be the rage. Although, I must say, the grilled veggies and avocado my wife made for herself last night looked pretty good!

It got me thinking about a fast from the madness that is all around us. My wife asked me this morning about a 72-hour, strict, water only fast to clean us out and reset.

Driving to work, I thought, why not a 72-hour technology and rat-race fast to cleanse our soul.

Some steps I thought necessary for that:

Tell everyone you’ll be on vacation.

Have your kitchen and supplies fully-stocked for 3-days.

Have a flip phone people can text for real emergencies.

Start on a Friday morning, end on a Monday morning.

No smart phones, internet, e-mail, TV, etc.

No visits to the store.

Only human interaction, prayer, and the outdoors.

 

I’m going to try this with my family, I’ll let you know how it goes! Maybe try it yourself and share the results with me!

Freedom Of The Spirit: In Troubling Times

True freedom can be found whatever your circumstances. Troubling things can bring us anxiety, but good things not founded in the spirit can lead to troubling times also. Your best defense is found down on your knees.

"The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory."

Will You Fly With Me To The Light?

Today's Odyssey is an early morning flight to DFW and a big day in Dallas. Join me as we consider life's journey towards either darkness or light, and the embracing of possibilities regardless of our current predicament.

In times like these, hope has never been more important.

Light, When You Can Neither Buy Nor Sell

How do you find light when you can neither buy nor sell?

How do you prepare for when living isn't as easy as going on Amazon or whipping out your debit card at the grocery store?

Finding Hope For The Future

So what is next? Prepare yourself, your family, and your close friends to support and look out for each other.

There is no universal source of news and facts close to a majority of people trust. There are lies and mistruths on both sides, and all the big media players are controlled by a few people with money.

The majority of politicians on both sides are more about personal gain and power.

It is a city vs. small-town-rural thing. This means on-going and greater chaos, but few “safe” places.

So what is next? Bigger government, more rules, more chaos, more restrictions, small businesses and restaurants dead, and the only solution the new government will probably have is more of the same.

Where is the hope? The hope is in faith, your family, and your community.  Build those up now, more than ever. Your only other option is despair.

Why? And What We Have Lost

Today is a sad day. What has brought us here? Trump? Liberals? Antifa? Rascists? Republicans?

I could go on with more labels and more “enemies” of someone. 

But, I think it’s more basic and it’s everyone. It's a loss of who we are and what we should be. It's a relinquishing of personal responsibility to our worse impulses.

If we don’t change these things, nothing will get better. We’ll continue to be divided, divisive, and on a road to our own destruction.

Have A Dish of Liberty, Family, & Faith

Wow in Georgia! Hundreds of thousands descend on DC!

But we aren’t gonna talk about that today. Today, we are gonna talk about having a dish and creating a to-do list of liberty, family, and faith.

Ate in a great restaurant after my class today, The Dish. Alone. Yep, sat there for an hour and not one other customer walked in.

It was an incredible experience. Its specialty is a tasting menu of small plates that offers a variety of tastes. I was there during happy hour, each plate was just $3. Calamari, Shrimp, fish tacos, dumplings, pork salad. Yet, I was alone.

The Dish has been open 14 years, founded by a Manhattan Chef who fell in love with a Lynchburg girl. My waitress was extravagantly tattooed and another transplant along with her tattoo artist husband.

The owner said the only reason he was still in business was that he owned the building. He laughed when I asked if he would have stayed open if he rented.

Restaurants aren’t the only business suffering, but they may be the hardest hit. I bet one near you has its own interesting story built on a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Don’t let government idiots riding their chariots destroy it. Spend your money with them.

Yesterday, we talked a bit about the foundation of our country and the foundations of our faith. What purpose should we follow from these foundation? How should that impact our family, our work, our hobbies?

Modern life is too complicated. We run around doing a lot, often feeling like we have accomplished nothing. One good thing about Covid is that it has given us time to reflect on core values and how we’ve lived our life.

Benjamin Franklin asked himself the same questions as a young man and the answers altered how he approached each day. He began to start each day with a question: What good shall I do this day?

He then ended each day with the question: What good have I done this day?

What will you order your day around? What is your to-do list? What will be your foundations.

I choose liberty, family, and faith. What will you choose?

Empty Restaurants and Golden Calves

We came to you yesterday from the Charlotte airport, today, it’s beautiful Lynchburg, Virginia.

Traveling outside your own community, you truly see the devastation of the last 9 months of Covid.

Lynchburg has a population of about 82,000. It is home to Liberty University which has about 15,000 students, and a couple thousand more faculty and staff. They are all at home for the rest of the semester. Lynchburg seems dead. My hotel has maybe five cars in the lot. The last time I was here it was full. The first restaurant I went to has been closed since December 31st because a staffer tested positive for Covid. At my next choice, I was one of 4 people eating at 5:30. I didn't see any take-outs.

No wonder something like 70% of people want $2,000 checks from the government. But what happens when more and more restaurants collapse and they want bailouts, and then commercial real estate collapses and they want bail-outs, etc? The “help” will come from those who destroyed us and more will be taken from us in order to give us pennies.

Yesterday, I talked about foundations.

 

In trying to control nature, we are chasing something unattainable and allowing ourselves to become enslaved to public policy, drifting further away from these foundational words.

We want a Golden Calf to save us because we don’t believe in God, we believe in ourselves. And what happens when you do that?

Foundations: Thoughts On A Big Week Ahead

This is a big week! Senatorial elections in Georgia that will decide the majority in the Senate, and whether there will be full Democratic control or split control with Republicans.

There is the pending certification of the election by the House and Senate and the stated objections by some republicans.

There is the Trump rally in Georgia.

This might be a good week to spend some time reviewing your fundamentals of belief. Read over the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Remind yourself of the words that proclaimed our freedom.

Read your bible, especially Genesis and the Gospels. Remind yourself why God created us, where we went wrong, and why you need Christ.

That is what I’ll be talking about the rest of this week, who we are and what we were called to be, as a people and as a country.

To weather the storm coming in 2021, you’ll need a firm foundation to stand upon. You do not want to become the problem, one of deceit and exaggeration. You want to be part of the solution of truth - freedom, liberty, and the conviction to live free.