Happy Thanksgiving!

It is Thanksgiving Day, 2017.  I’m going to forget some people and things that I am thankful for. Charge it to my head and not my heart.

Before I get into my list of things I am thankful for, I must acknowledge the harm and horror done to the Indigenous Peoples of this country, who were here when it was “discovered”, and paid a very high price when it was colonized. I remember and honor the folks who were here when the others got here.

On this cold Thursday morning, I have so many things to be thankful for. To start off, I am thankful for life. Having had a cardiac scare earlier this year made me a little more thoughtful about how I live and taking care of my health. I am glad that, while I move a little slower this year than last, I am still moving.

I am thankful for heat. It’s cold outside, and I pray for the persons who slept outside in that brutal cold, or for the persons who were inside with inadequate fuel to warm themselves and their babies.

I am thankful for my calling. Last year, on this day, I was editing an ordination paper that I though would never get done, Four years ago, I thought that the possibility of serving God’s people through ordained ministry was a wish, never to come true. This morning, I am an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ!.

I have to say how thankful I am to serve two of the best small churches on EARTH: Keysville Grace United Church of Christ and the MountPleasant Reformed United Church of Christ. The members remind me how blessed I am to pastor two churches, and also serve as proof positive that Sunday Morning at 11 am does NOT have to be the most segregated hour in America – they allow me the privilege of serving them as pastor.

I am also thankful for my home away from home – Veritas United Church of Christ in Hagerstown, MD. The members at VUCC are doing an integral work in Hagerstown, and on a shoestring. They also allow me to breathe when I am there – I get to be Guy when I’m there, and I just happen to be the preacher of the afternoon as well. I love y’all, and all of your originality.

For the Grace Church and its pastor, my mentor and friend, Rev. Dr. Rob Apgar-Taylor, it’s good to find your home and your people. I found mine in July, 2014. I am forever thankful for the chance you took on the little brown man from DC who was looking for a place to serve. I thank God for you every day and know that I treasure coming home every chance I get.

This year, there have been some…gargantuan…changes in my life. I started working in a coffee shop – a weird coffee shop. I am thankful for framily like the vanHilst crew, who introduced me to this unusual dude named Paul, who basically hired me on the spot, then entrusted me to run his shop. Not only that, they have enveloped all of us in the Johnson-Davis household into the Weird Brothers/Olsen clan, and we are thankful. In the process, I get to do Coffee House Ministry – it’s always good to be able to let your light shine wherever you are. (PS – Come get some Weird Brothers Coffee – 321 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon…it will bless you real good.)

I am thankful for the old and new friends and family members I acquired this year. George, thank you for being a sounding board and a voice of reason when I am often deaf and unreasonable. Kyle, you are the dude. David…thank you does not nearly encompass what your support and friendship have meant to me. You, sir, rock.

Speaking of new and old friends and family, I would be out of my mind if I did not publically holler how thankful I am for my village and kitchen cabinet: Feborah, Kim, AJ, Melonie, Tiffany, Henrietta, Kevin, Monique, all of my babies. My Chicago family and the newest edition to the family, Akel. Lord, I’m a great uncle again. That’s something to be thankful for.

To my girls: Tira, Kellie, Des Shawn, Venus, Lydia, Kim, Michelle, Kati, and Cindy – Y’all make it easy to be a good friend for almost 3.5 decades. I’m thankful that my crew is on speed dial and will show up and cut up whenever and wherever for whatever. Who knew?

To my boys: Chewee, Dewey, Judah, Rocky, Benny, O, Dan, Scott, Scott, and Charlie: Y’all make it easy to be real with you. Thank you.

Oh crap! I am really thankful for Matt and Eric. And Deidra and Alice. And Jay and Antares. This is why I shouldn’t name people (see opening lines).

Thankfulness extends to my blood family, the ones who carry my last name – Kristie and Cheryl, Bobby and Patrick, Briana and Ciera (and Deuce and Zöe), Terita and Chris (wherever you are – you still have a family that loves you and misses you. Come home). Our folks would be pretty proud of us. I am so thankful that y’all acknowledge me and claim me – even when I’m not at my best. 

But I am most thankful for my husband and dog. I am thankful that I can tell the world that my husband IS my husband. If you want to know why I am so thankful this year, it’s because the man who has stood beside me, supported me, believed in me (even when I did not believe in myself), pushed me beyond my comfort zone, spoke up for me when I could not muster the strength to find my own voice, and made it easy for me to do ministry love me unconditionally. Poppins, well, is Poppins. I am thankful for the person who discovered they were allergic to him and opened the door for us to become his forever family.

This year, life has been a roller coaster, but in the middle of the loop de loop, I have made it a point to find things to be thankful for. I woke up on this side of the dirt. I’m thankful. I can breathe without assistance. I am thankful. I have people who love me. I am thankful.

Find something to be thankful for yourself. I am sure you can, even if it’s a struggle to do so.

Be blessed, but more importantly, be a blessing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

I love the Psalms. I do. I remember how surprised I was that David did not write all 150 of them (Bible Interpretation 101 with Dr. Valerie J. Bridgeman and Hebrew Bible with Julia O’Brien blessed my life, so I am thankful for that). I consider them Ancient Israel’s Hymnal, and I love the way they’re classified – lament, royal enthronement, wisdom and torah, entrance, prophetic exhortation, mixed form. Today, however, I want to talk about psalms of thanksgiving.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in America (I can’t call our country the United States, because we are not  “united”). I like this day, because it causes me to take a step back and reflect on my blessings and, like the name indicates, to truly give thanks to God for all that God has blessed me with.

This year, I am grateful for:

·      The four churches where I am licensed to pastor.  Because of them, I am able to actually do the work God called me to do, and they make it easy to be their pastor/associate pastor/clayperson:

o   Keysville Grace UCC

o   Mt. Pleasant Reformed UCC

o   Veritas UCC

o   Grace Reformed UCC

·      Dr. Minh Ta, my primary care physician. Because of his dogged determination to get my blood pressure under control, he discovered another problem that needed to be addressed immediately. He’s also a funny and nice dude. And I am REALLY thankful for the Affordable Care Act, because I am able to go to the doctor and manage my health effectively.

·      Landmark Global. I work for them, for as long as I want to. And while it is not my dream job, it DOES provide income to pay some bills, and like I said earlier last week, take Bob out to dinner every now and then. This job also helps me move more, which helps me manage my health more effectively.

·      Rev. Dr. Rob Apgar-Taylor. When I was looking for a church post-seminary, I remembered meeting him right before I graduated. I still say he was in the corner looking sad, and nobody puts baby in a corner! I’m thankful that my first choice was not the BEST choice. *(Note: I am especially thankful THIS year for him, as he had a horrible car accident the Monday before Thanksgiving, and walked away virtually unscathed. My Bapticostal side went into a Baptist Fit when he said he was ok.)

·      Friends. I have the best, and most loyal, friends on earth.

·      Family. Some of my friends have become family, and let me also tell you, I have the best blood/chosen/blended family ever. This has been a mixed year for me, and through the peaks and valleys, they have been there, no questions asked. My siblings, both by blood and by The Blood (Bapticostals, that’s your shout cue) listened to my joys and concerns, all while encouraging or admonishing me to be the best me I could be. Y’all rock.

·      Poppins Johnson Davis. On August 13, 2016, God blessed our family with the most perfect dog ever. Watching him adapt to us and our home, and us to him, is a sitcom in the making. Unconditional love, this fur ball gives. I tell people all of the time – we were a family, but now we’re complete. And yes, he’s spoiled rotten.

·      Robert Davis. 11 years later, and you still make me so very happy. I’m so glad you came into my life. You support me, even in my madness, and I can say that you’re the one for me. Thank you for all that you do to make our house a home, and for being an AMAZING parent to the 20 pounds of hair that sheds all over our house.

Make sure to show some love to the folks you love. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Fix some broken relationships.

Happy Thanksgiving!