Tag Archives: pressure

The Tension Of Community

preachingatvillageThe pressure of community exists. It causes us to be better or worse. To step out side or to move inside. Whether we talk about the church community or we discuss the actual community we might live in there is a pressure of sorts.

Yesterday I read as a young black rapper opened up on the community of Ferguson. He came down on the side of “what are you doing, what are you thinking”. He chided them for not “policing” their own. With regard to the living condition he said “who is going to take care of if you don’t? If you urinate in the hallway how is that someone else’s fault?” Both rappers Pharrell and BoB were denigrated by their own for their comments and encouragement to take responsibility for their communities. Continue reading The Tension Of Community

Mexican Jumping Beans – Turning Up The Heat

Just a thought?
Just a thought?

When I was young everyone knew or had seen Mexican jumping beans. They were seed pods that had been occupied by the larva of a little moth. The bean would begin to jump as the bean was heated, because the larva would spasm in response to the heat, attempting to move the bean to a cooler place to avoid dehydration and possible death. Just holding the seeds or beans in your hand would cause them to heat up and jump.

One day I brought some to school and put them in our teacher’s drawer. As she came in she told me to “sit down…Now!” I told her I was looking for my snake. Needless to say when the beans jumped in the drawer…. Continue reading Mexican Jumping Beans – Turning Up The Heat

Carrots, Eggs, And Coffee – How Do you Respond?

 

How Do You Handle Adversity
How Do You Handle Adversity?

This is an old story but a good one.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. Continue reading Carrots, Eggs, And Coffee – How Do you Respond?