The Serenity Prayer

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference".
I've prayed this prayer often in my life, searching for that elusive "serenity" (peace) in times when my life seemed backed into a corner with no escape...the "Let go and let God" admonition that we so often are instructed to practice. Also praying for the courage to change the things I have the ability to change. Often this is in the area of "making amends", trying to right a wrong from the past. It definitely takes courage to reach back into our past and ask forgiveness from another human being...and, sometimes... having to repay a monetary debt. It's a humbling, yet liberating experience.
The prayer for "wisdom" is also vitally important, especially in the pursuit of making amends. As it says in the Big Book Of A.A., "Making amends to people wherever possible, "except" when to do so whould injure them or others."... Most people do this with the help of a sponsor, or mentor, someone who has already been there, done that, and knows which situations to tackle and which to simply "let be". One can make amends in ways other than digging up the past.
The author of the Serenity Prayer was 20th Century theologian, Reinhold Neibuhr. Born in Missouri in 1882, he died in 1971. During his lifetime Reinhold Neibuhr was the best-known Christian intellectual in the United States. His writings influenced such luminaries as Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. Professor Neihbur was an advocate for social justice and used his personal faith in Jesus Christ to try and advance humane working conditions in the booming industrial age, particularly in the automotive manufacturing industry. A man of great faith, he was also keenly aware of the sinfulness of man and the need for a spiritual, supernatural change in the human heart. His total surrender to his God was the impetus for writing the inspiring Serenity Prayer. The prayer has become a standard in opening and closing A.A. and other various meetings for years. Most people think that the prayer consists simply of the lines mentioned in my opening. Actually, the prayer is somewhat lengthier and I would like to present it to you in it's original form...
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardships as the pathway to peace, taking, as HE did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next..... Amen"

The Love Chapter

First Corinthians, chapter 13, is known mostly as the "Love Chapter". The apostle Paul is writing this letter to the Church in Corinth, encouraging them to love one another and making the point by distinguishing between "works" and "grace". If I "do" this, or If I "give" this...but don't have love, then I'm just faking it. Love is the most noble of graces....as Paul says, "the most excellent way".
My son, Nate, recently got married and his brother, Seth, read the Love Chapter at the wedding. A lot of weddings include at least a portion of this chapter in the ceremony.
My friend, Jim Mathis, is a writer, musician and photo artist. He has cleverly re-worded the Love Chapter for "Musicians". I thought this was brilliant and I wanted to share it with everyone on my email list. It just goes to show that the truth of the Word of God is relevant no matter what our station is in life. As a singer/songwriter, is sure got my attention.....
Ist Corinthians 13.... paraphrased for musicians by Jim Mathis

If I have the most gorgeous voice in the world, but have not love, I might as well be beating on a trash can. If I have perfect pitch and know all there is to know about chords and harmonies and have mastered the last detail of music theory, but have not love, I am nothing. If I play in prisons, concert halls, churches and arenas, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient to those less skilled. Love treats the audience with respect. Love does not need a Martin D-45 and a stack of Marshall amps. Love is not arrogant nor does it show false humility. Love does everything possible to please the audience. It doesn't get upset when it can't hear the monitors or if somebody is out of tune. Love does not brood over last nights gig. Loves does not enjoy seeing somebody else bomb, but wants everyone to rock. Loves takes care of other musicians and is always trying to improve.
If there is love, there is no failures. Great players lose their chops, great singers lose their voices, great songs are forgotten, but love will never die.
We will never get it right here on earth, but when we get to heaven, the whole set will be nailed.
When I was a child, I dinked around on my instrument, but when I became a man, I played with passion. Now I hear like a cheap speaker. In heaven it will be 10,000 watts and crystal clear. Now I have to look for the chords. Then, they will all fall under my fingers and Jesus Christ will hear each note of worship played for Him.
And now three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.....

You can click on the link below to read the original blog and read more of the inspired ramblings of Jim Mathis...
http://www.skyblueband.net/1stCorinth13.htm

If you enjoy reading my Monday morning blogs and think of others who might be interested please pass on my link to your friends.... thanks and God Bless...
Bob Jenkins www.12stepsandawindingroad.com

Forest Green

Pacific Blue...and Forest Green...
Color rolling ocean waves and summer leaves....
This is the beginning lyric of a song I wrote called, "CRAYONS"....
You can hear the entire song at: http://songramp.com/Flyingsheep
I think Freud was onto something when he talked about how the mind sometimes works "subliminally".
I was probably somewhere between 8 and 10 years old (5th or 6th grade?)... When sometime mid-year a new kid showed up in school one day. His name was Forest Green... (and, no, I'm not making this up). Forest Green was a lot different than the rest of us classmates. He seemed to wear the same clothes every day to school, he was unkempt and quiet... pretty much kept to himself. Also, at our school we had "hot lunches". Back then I believe it cost 50 cents a day if you wanted to eat a cafeteria lunch. I think most of us kids did...except for Forest. He brought his lunch in a paper sack (I think it was the same papter sack every day)... One day I just happened to notice that all he had in his sack was a bologna sandwich...maybe it was peanut butter...the exact memory fails me. All I know is that, in my world, at that time, Forest Green was very "different" than me. I do know that I (and the rest of the class) pretty much left him to himself. We probably made fun of him and teased him... the way kids are prone to do when they encounter someone quite unlike themselves. Forest was only in our midst for a short time...probably a few weeks at the most. One day I came to school and he was simply "gone". Looking back I imagine that his family was poor and transient and the father (if there was one in the home) probably lost a job and they had to move on.
Sometimes, even now, a half-century later, I find myself wondering what ever happened to that young boy who moved in and out of my life like a wisp of smoke. Did he ever escape the cycle of poverty? Did he end up in a juvenile facility? Prison? ... Did he ever find love? ... get married?... Does he have kids?... Is he even still alive?
In First Corinthians 13, the "Love" Chapter, it reads: "When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put childish ways behind me." Sometimes, when I think about Forest, it makes me wonder... Have I really? Have I put childish ways "behind me"?... as an adult?
It seems that God, in His infinite wisdom, has always provided Forest Greens who periodically move in and out of my life... those "Ragamuffins" of society who somehow always show up unexpectedly and inconveniently in all their scruffiness and unlikeableness. Jesus was constantly criticized by the religious leaders of His time for not only hanging out with, but embracing the poor, the downtrodden, the lepers, the dregs of "society". When I read the Gospels I can't help but be taken by the fact that God loves ragamuffins. As a follower of Jesus (yes, I try)... I'm embarassed to admit that I, more often than not, still yearn to "cling to my childish ways". I still want to run the other direction when I see someone "different" than the person I think I am. ("I THINK I am") being the key phrase. God help me.... to see the worth in every human being created in YOUR image!... Help me "grow up" and put away the foolishness of childhood. Father, forgive me....Forest...forgive me. For not being there for you when you desperately needed a kind word...when all you wanted was someone to care... just another little kid who would play catch with you or sit down and share his lunch with you. When you needed...a friend.
I know,... I know... It was years ago. I was just a child back then. But now,...now... I have no excuse.

People Who Inspire

I love movies. Especially ones that have a good message. Jack Nicholson was in a movie with Helen Hunt called, "As Good As It Gets". Jack's character (Melvin), is an obsessive-compulsive man who has a hard time communicating with other people. As the movie progresses he finds himself romantically attracted to Helen Hunt's character, (Carol), but he is at a loss for words in trying to describe his feelings for her. Finally, in a last-ditch effort to make sense of his feelings he simply says, "You make me want to be a better man". For Carol it is the highest compliment she could have received. It's a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it.
I wanted to write a blog about "authors" who have inspired me over the years. And then, the more I thought about it, I realized that there were actually people in my immediate life who have inspired me to "be a better man". There is the older gentleman in our church whom I watched nurse his wife through 6 years of Alzheimer's Disease... saying the "long goodbye" with a grace that constantly amazed me as I observed his faithfulness, love and tenderness towards her. The young couple who suffered a great loss of one of their children...and did so without wavering in their faith in a loving God and His promise that "this is not the end of the story". My own pastor, whose messages of redemption through the finished work of Jesus Christ has bolstered my faith tremendously over the years. My good friend who struggled most of his adult life with drug/alcohol addiction but managed his final years of recovery with strength and courage. My two sons, who have grown into compassionate, Godly men that any dad would be proud to have raised. Our family friend, who, despite bad health most of her life has always "been there" when we needed a friend. Anothe friend, who succumbed to cancer a few years ago. She still amazed everyone at her funeral by making even that into a celebration. (She actually bought "baby gifts" for her yet-to-be-married friends). A sterling example of a life well-lived. Then there is my wife, God love her, who has been an amazing example of love and hospitality to others all her life.
I'm sure there are others I haven't mentioned. Thank you ALL for writing a bit of your lives into my life. I can say without a doubt that knowing you has indeed, made me "want to be a better man". As you are reading this, I'm sure there are people brought to mind of whom you could say the same. Sure, there are authors/musicians/writer-muses who have challenged my life and actions through their wonderful songs and literature, but that's nothing compared to witnessing, first-hand,... lives that inspire.

Forgiveness

My wife and I just saw the film, "Invictus". It is the story of Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela spent almost 30 years in prison in South Africa for protesting the apartheid government, ruled by the white minority. When he was finally released from prison he ran for and won the office of President of South Africa. In most cases this is how repressive, ruthless dictatorships begin...the opportunity to finally get "revenge".
In the case of Nelson Mandela, he surprised everyone by including blacks and whites in his administration, even to the point of hiring white bodyguards, men who, in the past would have been part of the forces that imprisoned he and other family members. Mr. Mandela had learned the secret of "grace" and had been given the gift of forgiveness. Forgiveness is, I believe, the most powerful force in the universe. It is part of that supernatural thing we call "grace". In the 12-Step program (and in everyone's life) there comes a time when we are forced to make a decision.... forgive, or... hold fast to our lust for revenge and vindictiveness. It's one of the toughest decisions you or I will ever make...and one of the most important... for it sets the path of how our future will be played-out. Will we live lives free of bitterness or will we break through that wall and become people of character and persons of love and respect? Nelson Mandela made the right choice and it changed, in some way, the hearts of 43 million people. We are each given the opportunity to follow his example. More importantly, God Himself gave us the supreme example in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. God, in Christ, came into this world not to condemn it, but to save it. He did so by offering Himself to pay the penalty for our sins...our grudges, our addictions, our self-centeredness. It is through the gift of grace and forgivenss that any of us have the opportunity to change our lives (or, a better way to say it would be to say, to "Let go and let God" change our lives, our hearts. The greatest words every spoken were uttered from the God-man on the cross of Calvary two Millenia ago: "Father, forgive them". If God has forgiven us then who are we to say that we have the right not to forgive others? It's part of the beginning of a remarkable Spiritual journey...

12 Steps... the Music CD

During the two years that I was pursuing a degree in Addiction Counseling I did my practicum at Mainstream, in Bonner Springs, Kansas. As a songwriter I often was taken by some of the things discussed in group counseling sessions. Often it inspired me to write a song about a particular subject and then I would sing it for the guys at the center. Most of the time I would have great feedback on the song and even had requests for me to put it on a CD or, at least, make them a copy of the lyrics. It was during these two years that I sat in my little basement recording studio and put together the CD, "12 Steps And a Winding Road"... 15 songs of hope and healing for those in recovery. I wrote or co-wrote half of the songs and culled the other songs from some of my favorite songwriters who I felt had written a song which would tie-in to the message of hope. The CD was completed in 2009 and I now have copies available. While I would love to just give them away (and sometimes that happens), I also would like to recoup my financial investment in the recording, paying other musicians, the extensive artwork (full color booklet with lyrics) and the CD productions costs. If you are interested in purchasing a CD they are available for $15 (shipping and handling included) by sending to: Bob Jenkins, P.O. Box 671, Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201. You can hear some of the songs at: http://songramp.com/Flyingsheep
Also I would love any opportunities to share my time and talent with any groups, organizations or churches that might be interested. email me at: coloringmoses@yahoo.com

I've enjoyed the journey so far and am looking forward to carrying the message of hope and healing to the hurting and suffering, wherever they may be and wherever the road may lead. God Bless

Barn Building

I noticed that my youngest son, Nate, was busier than usual this year. It seems he was always out someplace helping someone move or tear down a wall or patch or roof or.... whatever needed to be done. I asked him about it one day and he told me it was his "year of barn building". When I asked him what he meant he explained to me how in the Amish Community, whenever someone needed a new barn or their old barn had burned down or been destroyed, the entire community would come together and help them erect a new barn. He told me that this year he had decided that whenever anyone asked him for help, or needed help with a project, and it was something he could do or had time to do, that he would volunteer to help. I thought it was a terrific idea and I was very proud of him that he would simply think of doing something like this without any outside (or ulterior) motivation.
The biggest obstacle to overcoming addiction is coming to the realization that our greatest struggle is addiction to "self". Sharon Hersh delves headlong into this subject in her great book, "The Last Addiction". All of us are driven to "pursue pleasure" and "avoid pain" in life. What we all need to realize is that the Bible speaks a pearl of truth when it says that "it is better to give than to receive". For all of us struggling with recovery from addictions it would be helpful to take a good look at our lives and ask ourselves the question: "Are we still living only for ourselves, or are we using our recovery to reach out to others, to get us out of "ourselves"? I think it's a lesson for all of us. Thanks Nate for the reminder that I am not the center of the universe. Cudos from a proud papa...