Way

Jesus said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

John 14:6

Way means:

A road, path, or highway affording passage from one place to another.
An opening affording passage.
Space to proceed.
Opportunity to advance.
A course that is or may be used in going from one place to another.
Progress or travel along a certain route or in a specific direction.
A course of conduct or action.
A manner or method of doing.
A usual or habitual manner or mode of being, living, or acting

Truth means:

A proven or verified principle or statement.
Faithful reproduction or portrayal the truth of a portrait
An obvious fact; truism; platitude
Honesty, reliability, or veracity
Accuracy, as in the setting, adjustment, or position of something

Life means:

The state or quality that distinguishes living beings or organisms from dead ones and from inorganic matter.
The period between birth and death
A living person or being to save a life
The time between birth and the present time
The remainder or extent of one's life
The amount of time that something is active or functioning.
A present condition, state, or mode of existence
The state or quality of being faithful

Through means:

In one side and out the opposite or another side of
Among or between; in the midst of
By way of
By the means or agency of
Into and out of the handling, care, processing, modification, or consideration of
Here and there in; around
From the beginning to the end of
At or to the end of; done or finished with, especially successfully
Up to and including
Because of; on account of
From one end or side to another or an opposite end or side

From beginning to end; completely

Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the life. The way means that he came and showed us a path, a way to live, that leads us to truth and life. He is the truth because he is the actual "reproduction" of God here on earth. He, God, came to show us how to live. Living this way, the truth, brings us life. This brings us life not only in the next life, but in the life we are in right here, right now.

You see that most of us that call ourselves "Christian" look only for Jesus to return and to "save" us from this life. We give little thought that Jesus came to show us how to live this life with principles of truth that will lead us to a happy and fullfilled life NOW! Yes, Jesus died on a cross for our sins so that we could be with God forever. He was our substitution, our lamb, our sacrifice, our payment. However, that death on the cross was also there to show us how to live a life of love, sacrifice, and compassion ourselves. This is what leads to life here on this earth.

Jesus stated this over and over. Paul stated this over and over. Yet we continue to forget that Jesus saying that he is the way, the truth, and the life is not just about the cross and his death, but also about the manner is which we live.

So today, live as Christ would. Forgive those around you. Do not show condemnation or anger, but love and kindness. Think on and see the good in all things and people around you. Be thankful for what is in your life rather than worried about what is not in your life. This will bring you life and joy NOW! This will also bring us to God the Father! We go through the way of living Jesus taught. Then we will find God living and being in our lives NOW! No one comes to the father except through Jesus and his way of love!

Namaste'

Oh So Thankful

Tonight I watch "Mega Tsunami" on TLC. I watched as people told their stories of that day and watched the videos of people in terror. I watched a father find his 15 year old daughter in a picture on a wall of dead bodies for people to identify and witness this moment of devastation. I watched as a couple was interviewed about losing their 5 year old daughter that day. They explained what it was like not being able to hold onto her in the powerful water and identifying her body and having to be asked three times if this was their daughter. I watched as they grieved and could not even console each other during the interview about that day.

I went upstairs and sat on my son's bed and just held him. I stroked his face and kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear how much I loved him. I cried tears of joy to just be able to do that right here right now. I got to hear him laugh tonight. I got to hear him say "I wished that my elf, santa, and God would love me" when he pulled the wishbone from a chicken at dinner with his mother. It is Christmas. I know that I have been concerned about "what am I going to get everyone, how am I going to get it," and many other things that really do not matter when you see how others have faced loss. So I wanted to write to remind myself, and hopefully others, that there is so much to be thankful for each and everyday. Some may not have jobs, unable to buy presents, unable to offer what we may think would be a "good Christmas." I am going to choose to be thankful for all that I have, especially my family. To be with them on each day, to be in their presence, to watch them learn and grow and change, to have the honor and privilege to be a part of love with them - this is what I will focus on. I will just be oh so thankful that on Christmas day, and everyday, I get to see them and be with them. Cherish each of these moments. I know it is said everywhere you go, but truly anything other than this is a waste.

Namaste'

All God's

Sometimes we act like it is all up to us. You know - we have to make things happen, make sure that people get "saved," make sure that life happens in the way that we think it should, make sure we are doing all the right things to make sure God is pleased - on and on we go thinking that we are the ones in control of our world. This is the reality:

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Ephesians 2:7-10

Everything is all God's idea. We think that we have impact on God's ideas. We do not play a major role with God and God's ideas. Life is God's gift from start to finish and God will take us to where God will. We must just "trust God enough to let him to it." This is our "job." This is our one and only job - get out of the way and trust, allow God to be God.

Our one and only job is to connect with God. To think like God thinks and to allow God to work in life as is planned. The work "we had better be doing" is allowing God to work as God wants, to believe and trust God has our best interest at hand, and connect with God through spirit each moment of our lives. We connect with God in our thoughts, our actions, our beliefs. Are we loving and kind to others? Do we believe that God needs us and we need God? Do we understand that we are divine children of God and we will have what we need and desire in the most perfect way with grace? We do not do anything, we are all being done. God is working. We need to allow.

Namaste'

Meditation

We all want a happy and fruitful life. We all want to be "happy all the time." We all want a life of calmness, peace, and inner satisfaction. However, I wonder how many of us are willing to daily the practice of having this type of life. I know that we all would like to just have this kind of life "appear" magically the moment we make a decision to follow the way of Jesus. However, even Jesus had a daily practice that few are willing to follow:

While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed.

Mark 1:35

In prayer and meditation we train the mind, the brain, the spirit to understand and know the ways of God. It is in the stillness and quietness of the mind that we will find God speaking to us. It is in those times that God can use the moments of our life, the reading of scriptures, the things we feed our mind with, to bring an inner peace and calmness that "passes all understanding." We hone our peace of mind in prayer and meditaion. We are able to take the outer circumstances of life and understand what is real and what is really a delusion. We begin to understand that we do not have to have things to be happy. We do not have to have money to be happy. We do not have to make the circumstances of our life match some predetermined plan we have. No, it is within the training ground of prayer and meditation that we are transformed to arrived at a blessed state that the very luster of our inner peace protects us from any worry or concern about the circumstances around us. It is here that we actually experience:

I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Philippians 4:11-13

So today think about submitting yourself to times of quiet. Think about spending some time each day in solitude, quietness of mind, prayer, paying attention to your thoughts to allow God to bring you to a place of even mindedness. Practicing this connection to God daily is the only way to think like God thinks and find that the circumstances of your life have no power over the spirit of God in you. So take time to meditate on this everyday:

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:8

Train your brain. Train your spirit. Feed them both well and keep them fit for peace to have a home.

Namaste'

Yin and Yang

We have this idea that somehow we must defeat evil. We have the idea that evil is something that should never be there. We have this idea that it is good vs. evil and one of them has to win. What about the idea of strength and weakness instead of good vs. evil? Strength is good and we all have strengths. Weaknesses may be difficult at times, but we learn from them to make us stronger. We resist our weaknesses so often because we see them as evil. We see them has bad, something to be defeated and resisted. What if the weaknesses we have are there to help us strengthen ourselves and others? What if these two things actually work together and are used by God to make us whole people?

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Romans 12:20-21

When we do not fight against evil we overcome it. One version of this passage says so not let evil overcome you, but overcome evil with good. When we get angry with someone, resist someone or some situation because we think it is evil - we are letting evil overcome us. We are not acting in love, compassion, patience, or kindness. We are reacting with anger, frustration, and resentment. Evil then wins and we learn nothing.

I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

Think about it - strength and weakness - are both great teachers. What we see as evil - bad breaks, opposition, abuse, accidents - are great teachers in our lives. They may be seen as weakness, but they are there to give us great strength. God's strength will show through in those times. It is in those times that we can allow things to happen. Being kindness, love, and compassion.

So today stop resisting everything that comes into your life as evil. Allow it to be there knowing that it is not a handicap but a gift to allow strength to be built in you. Learn from this teacher and you will find that peace will rule your heart and what we need will show up at just the right time.

Namaste'