Michael Hindes

Just like Vodka

I woke up this morning with vodka on my mind – don’t ask!

I was thinking about how much our lives are like vodka, at least mine is…

Vodka Facts:

Vodka can be made out of pretty much anything, just like us. People come from all walks of life with differing kinds of heritage both natural and spiritual.

And just like vodka we are put through a rigorous process of filtration.  The only difference between cheap and expensive vodka is the number of times it’s been filtered, or purified. Really expensive stuff, Grey Goose – again, don’t ask – is purified at least five times.

I guess if I was vodka, I’d be pretty expensive because I’m in a constant process of filtration and purification. God, through circumstances and relationships, is always at work in my life filtering out impurities.

The really good stuff is supposed to just taste pure, refreshing, actually. I think our lives should be like that as well. People should be able to taste our lives and be refreshed by our un-polluted flavor.

More Vodka Facts:

Did you know that vodka could be made from cucumber, potato, tomato, corn, sorghum, rice, beets, grapes, again pretty much anything? And the goal of the distillation process is to filter out as much of its original taste as possible in order to reduce it down to its the purest state – alcohol.

But no matter how many times you filter it, you can never get what or where it comes from out of the flavor. There is a distinction of flavors based on the original crop and where the original crop was grown. For instance, there’s a difference in the flavor of vodka made from potatoes and that made from grapes, and there’s a difference in the flavor of sorghum vodka made in the United States and that, which is bottled in the Netherlands – one more time, just stop asking how I know this stuff…

Isn’t this kind of the way we are as well? We get purified again and again, but we are always flavored with where we come from. That’s what makes our lives distinct and our own brands unique. No matter how much we pride ourselves in our purity, we remain with just a little of our original residue. This reminds of the disciples who stood in the courtyard warming themselves at the fire as Jesus was being interrogated. The people around them knew they too were from Nazareth because “their speech betrayed them” (Matt 26:73).

One last interesting Vodka fact:

Many mixed drinks have vodka as their base because it blends so well with everything, though vodka can certainly be enjoyed on it’s own.  In our lives, God should be able to add us to any group of people in order enhance their flavor, but we should also be fully content to be on our own, enjoying the freshness of the purification that’s been done in our lives.

O.K. - if you don’t like my analogy, what do you think we taste like?  And don’t say Jesus, that’s too easy…

Being at Home

Everyone needs a place where they can just be themselves – preferably that place is home.  A place where you can talk, laugh, debate, unplug, unwind, even just sit back in quiet and read.  To me home isn’t so much about location, it’s about whom you do “home” with…

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines home as: one’s place of residence or the social unit formed by a family living (being) together.  It further defines the term at home as being: relaxed, comfortable, at ease, in harmony with surroundings, on familiar ground.

That defines exactly how I feel when all five of us, actually now six of us, are together.  I’m at ease; nothing deep or profound is expected of me.  I’m allowed to sit in comfortable clothes and surroundings, enjoy the conversation, and just be.

Christmas was wonderful yesterday, not because of any special traditions but because we were all together simply being ourselves.  There’s something powerful about being given the permission to be you – to know that you are fully accepted and loved without any pretense or pressure.

When I’m with my family in these moments, I can almost hear my soul exhale a sigh of relief, because my soul knows I’m at home regardless of the address.

As I sat on the couch last night I wondered how many people actually felt at home yesterday?  I wondered what the trick was, to get people to feel at ease?  I’m not sure Kathy and I have any magic formula or any incredible insight, but people do feel very comfortable in whatever home we reside…

Then this morning I woke up thinking abut the church, wondering if it could create an environment where people could be at home, be comfortable, be at ease?  Can we create a place where people don’t have to feel like guests, a place where they don’t have to pretend to be someone or something else?

Can you imagine a church where your soul exhales a sigh of relief because it knows it’s home?

Monday Musings…

“I begin to ask myself how we can learn all the things God wants to teach us if we limit our intake with fear.  I see fear everywhere: the common fear of having to think in a new way; fear of listening to other spiritual points of view; fear of revelations about God that don’t fit comfortably with existing ideas and opinions.  Could the God of all creation really only be capable of revealing Himself to all people in (just) one way.”  Paula D’Arcy: The Gift of the Red Bird

The previous paragraph struck my heart deeply and resonated strongly within my spirit.  But before you get too concerned, this isn’t my declaration that “all roads lead to heaven”.  For I know that all roads most certainly do not.  I remain in faith that “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).  I’m concerned however that though my faith is deeply planted in that truth, I’m much too defensive?  My natural tendencies are to speak dismissively of other religions and others’ struggle to find God?  For all the grace I’ve received and the little bit of grace I understand, I remain too harsh about others’ journeys.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Is my God big enough to “direct the paths” of all those who seek to trust Him, even if their ideology isn’t perfect?  That phrase “direct paths” actually means to make “paths straight”.  Even my journey to God started on some sort of crooked path of truth.  Some aspect of my belief, hope, and faith weren’t and still aren’t completely straight…

My dogma to defend my path, my need to be right, and my unwillingness to listen to other spiritual insights make my “way” much to narrow for others to follow.  To make matters worse, over the past twenty-five years, the Church has tethered her beliefs to her political platforms.  Thus nearly “dogmatizing” her out of influence.

I read an interesting piece in the New York Times Sunday (http://tinyurl.com/cukvtpt).  It stated that nearly 25% of young adults in America mark “none” on surveys when it comes to religious preferences.  Yet only a very small percentage of those considered themselves atheists.  That means there remains openness to spiritual truth, at precisely the same time there’s a growing disdain for organized religion.  This generation is concerned that religion is so entangled with politics that they’ve decided to opt out of both.

Still desiring truth, but disliking the delivery system brings us an awesome opportunity to change not the object of, but the vehicle of our revelation.

But are we ready to reach the generations around us?  Are we ready to embrace humility?  Are we ready to love others and respect their paths (even if their paths need some straightening)?  I’d like to say, “I am”, but it would be easier to do this as a “we are”…

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I wouldn’t say that…

Those that know me best know there aren’t many things I wouldn’t say. I mean, find me at a time where I’m really mad, really scared, or really excited, and you might walk away surprised or even disappointed.

I’ve matured in a lot of ways during first 50 years of my life. I think differently, love differently, assess God and relationships differently, and I’ve even learned to embrace a different posture and pace for life.

But my sarcastic, cynical, and sometimes off color responses to life – well, maybe I’ll work on that the next 50 years…

Sometimes (really a whole bunch of times) I say things for the shock value - you know to get people’s attention; kind of like saying, “is this microphone working?”

Many times I embarrass my poor wife, Kathy, or make my kids cringe when they hear someone mistakenly set me up for a great one-liner.  I can still hear my mother’s exasperated voice in my head – “MICHAEL!”

But there are some things I wouldn’t say. No, really, there are…

I wouldn’t say that… because you don’t believe like I do, you’re “lost”.

I wouldn’t say that… there’s only one way to assess truth, history, justice, beauty, or even God.

I wouldn’t say that… I’m a big Tebow fan, I actually prefer Brady and Rodgers.

I wouldn’t say that… I’m done routing for Tiger. I cheered like crazy this past Sunday (I pray he gets his whole life together, not just his game).

I wouldn’t say that… because you’re an Ohio State fan you’re going to hell, although there’s certainly a better than average chance.

I wouldn’t say that… young love is the best love, because love is best continually discovered over the years.

I wouldn’t say that… age makes you softer or tenderer towards others because I know some really narcissistic, bigoted, and just plain mean spirited senior citizens.

I wouldn’t say that… Gingrich is a good alternative to Romney, and I wouldn’t say that Romney is a good alternative to Obama (but I still wish there was one good alternative to all three…)

I wouldn’t say that… I have any faith in the US economy or any planned government intervention.

I wouldn’t say that… my assessment of the current economic environment makes me nervous, because God is my provider.

I wouldn’t say that… because it didn’t work out the way I planned that I can’t trust God.

I wouldn’t say that… because people are dying of AIDS, cancer, and all matter of disease that God doesn’t heal.

I wouldn’t say that… because sometimes friendships, marriages, and even churches fall apart that covenant is bullshit.

I wouldn’t say that… I’ve arrived already or that I know everything. I actually don’t want to arrive and I prefer questions to answers.

Lastly, I wouldn’t say that… I know exactly what the next year holds, but I bet it’ll be interesting, full of laughs and love, and maybe even a little pain…

 

What wouldn’t you say?

 

*If you haven’t yet, consider following me on Twitter @MichaelHindes where you can read more things I wouldn’t say…