Exclamations of Thanks

I wanted to take some time this evening as my son sleeps to say that I am so thankful to have people in my life that care so much and pray for my family. I am overwhelmed and humbled at that fact. It is amazing to me that God has taken care of all of us! God is love, beauty, kindness, compassion, and peace. I can only think of all of you much the same as Paul thought about the people who were his friends and support him:

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
It's not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!
So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:3-11

I give exclamations of thanks for all of you tonight and most definitely when I think of you all tomorrow! I pray that we all can get involved in making Jesus attractive to everyone! You have all help me so much in my life and I can only hope that I could just give some of that back to you all in some way! Love well and as always.....

Namaste'

Store Owner

I just had to right about this today. Do you realize that you are the owner of a store and you can put your hands on anything that you need when you need it? This may not be "things" like houses, cars, money, or stuff. We can put our hands on things like peace, purpose, love, kindness, joy, happiness, and compassion when we needed. These things are worth much more than any kind of thing we could buy or have. This is the kingdom of God available to you right here and right now:

"Then you see how every student well-trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it."

Matthew 13:52

Jesus tells this to his followers right after many stories about what the kingdom of God is like. If you have time, go and read Matthew 13 and find out what the kingdom of God really looks like. The kingdom of God is something that we do not have to wait on, it is something that we can have right now and is waiting for us. We need to change our inner life, work patiently on our inner life, and match our inner life up to Jesus and his inner life. If we can practice this then we can be a "well trained student" that has all the joy, peace, love and kindness available to us when it is needed by those around us. This is the kingdom of God. It is our responsibility to bring this kingdom to people here and now. Those things are the precious gifts that the kingdom offers to us. The kingdom of God offers us more than treasure or power, it offers us what we all look for - peace, joy, and love.

Be a well trained student of Jesus and his way today and everyday. Be able to be an excellent store owner and manager. Be a store full of love, grace, kindness, and joy so that others can acces the kingdom with you and through you until they become store owners themselves.

Namaste'

Wonder and Awe

How much of your life do you life in wonder, belief and awe? How often do we miss the things right in front of us offering the light of God into our lives? Today as you read this let this be your thought all day long - "I will live this day in wonder and belief, with my eyes wide open, allowing God to show me the light that is offered in every situation." All to often we live with our eyes closed to God being there. When we close our eyes to God being there by saying things to ourselves like, "I can't believe this is happening to me," or "this should not be happening," or even "I am so tired today," the light of God cannot penetrate our lives.

"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!"

Matthew 6:22-23

So today pull up the blinds in your life. Notice what you are thinking and how you are viewing your life. Are the blinds down and you are complaining about not being able to see the sun? Are you telling yourself that God "could not allow this if God loved me," or "I can't trust anyone or anybody?" If you are then your blinds are pulled down and no light will be let in. Live today with your eyes wide open in wonder and belief. Allow the light in, pull up the blinds and let the light of God fill you up! God is everywhere! Look for God and see your life fill up with light and energy.

Namaste'

Perspective

What is your perspective on life? Perspective is a view, a way of seeing things, or a way of regarding situations or facts. One event in our lives, one relationship to another person, or anything that happens can be seen from many different perspectives. Life is like one of those hologram cards. You know the ones I am talking about, my son has one with spiderman on it. If you hold it one way Spiderman is on the card on the right side of the pole, and if you look at it from another way Venom is on the card on the left side of the pole. As you move the card back and forth you see somthing different. Same card - different perspective.

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

Colossians 3:1-4

So what is your perspective? What do you see as your real life? Do you worry about things, money, stuff, what will happen next week or next year? This is seeing things from your perspective as a physical being, thinking that all this stuff, or your reputation is really important, that you can't live without it, and that it somehow tells you what you are worth and who you are.

Christ's perspective is much different. God sees us as spiritual beings having a human experience. This is your real life, the spiritual. A life that is to be lived with the mind of Christ, being content with being unnoticed, but loving. Being content by not being attached to things or reputation, but continuing to serve others. This is the joy of real life! So today, like that hologram card my son has, turn your life and view it from a different perspective and see how things change when you look at them from a different way!

Namaste'

Confidence

Have confidence today. God has worked it all out. Everything from the things we think are trials to the most joyous occasions, God is in the mist of working on us and taking care of us. Have confidence in this today!

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Romans 8:26-28, 31-39

Sometimes scripture just speaks for itself. Be confident today. God is right there, the question is not if God is there. The question is do you believe that and change your thinking to believe it and act as if it is true? Or will you spend your days believing and acting like God has abandonded you, even though this is not true? The choice of confidence and faith is up to you.

Namaste'

Compassionate Acceptance

I know I often have the first reaction to reject someone, not listen to someone, or to "write off" someone who does not think like I do. I think that we all have this tendency. We want people to agree with us, think like us, and be like us. We are under the assumption that this will make our world go better somehow. "If only everyone thought like me then the world would be great." This is what we say to ourselves about our spouses, our children, our family, our friends, and all people whether Christian or not.
However, we have been asked to do something much radically different than this kind of living and thinking. We have been asked to have compassion and acceptance for ALL those around us. Everyone is invited to the table of God to eat, fellowship, and partake of the goodness offered in God:

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.

Romans 14:1-4

I love the last verse. I think about this often and try to practice it. God does not need our help in convincing people of anything. All we are commanded to do is to love, accept, and show people that there is a better way to live life. It is up to God to "change lives." We are all guest at the table of God. When I say all I mean all. Everyone is welcomed to sit at the table with God in life. God will work out the relationship with them, our one and only job is to invite them to the table, allow them to be who they are, and let have an experience with God! It is not our job to create a list of people who are and are not allowed in God's welcome. How terribly rude!

So today, and everyday, allow your spouse, your children, your family, your coworkers, and everyone you meet to be who they are. Allow people to be invited to the table of God and let them experience God for themselves! Understand that you once were at a place in your life when you just needed someone to understand you and let you be you - this is compassion. We all need a place to be just who we are and loved - this is acceptance. Put these together today and let God be God and watch the miracles happen!

Namaste'

Embrace

We try so hard to avoid "suffering." We think that somehow we will be the only people on the face of the earth that can avoid something happening that we do not like or want to happen to us. We think that we "should never" suffer. "If God loves me I would not have to be going through this," we say to ourselves. Everyone expriences some kind of suffering. We all will experience pain. We have come to believe that we should never experience this kind of thing. Think about it for just a minute - tell me someone you know that has not experienced some kind of pain or suffering. Now be honest - we all have expereinced death, a lack of something we need, and circumstances that we would not want to have happen. We really should prepare ourselves for suffering, not look for it around ever corner, but understand it will come and be prepared and even embrace it.

Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?"

Mark 8:34-37

We think that if we could just get everything we want we could avoid suffering, but Jesus is saying that will not happen. If we think that we can help ourselves throughthe accumulation of wealth, things, or popularity. These things do not help us avoid anything. Our true self is not about these things. Our true self is eternal and spiritual. We come into this world with nothing and we will leave with no thing so what else could be the point of our life but to give it away. Embrace your suffering Jesus says. Wow what a tall order we say. However, if life is viewed through this lens - that who we really are is a spiritual being who is having a human experience and we do not need anything to experience the joy of life - then suffering is minimized and we can actually use these experiences as teachers for our life.

If you have not done so find a time to watch Dr. Wayne Dyer PBS special in the coming month. Watch during the second hour as a man that was burned at the age of two comes out with no hands and plays the drums. The more amazing thing is listening to him talk about the gift given to him by God and how it would be insulting to God, family, and everyone not to embrace his suffering and move forward in life.

Namaste'

Clean

To be clean. To be holy. This is the goal of our lives. To be clean and holy means something different to all of us. Most of us, in my humble opinion, think that being clean and holy is all about some list of do and do nots that we must keep. Do go to church. Don't go to the R rated movie. Do read your Bible everyday. Don't curse. Do listen to only Christian music. Don't listen to "secular music." (Whatever that is) We think that if we keep this list of rules that someday we will be clean and holy. We think that it is somehow our ourward actions will make us holy and clean, but we never really change the inside of our lives. I think that to truly be clean and holy we need to listen to these words:

Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing. Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he's asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.
If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath.

I Peter 3:8-18

We all want to oppose things that we think are evil and we somehow think this will make us more holy. However, it is a matter of the attitude of the heart as to how holy we are. We all keep our "list" of things that make us more holy than the next person, but few of us live a life that is lived out of love and doing good. We find it hard to be humble, compassionate, agreeable, and kind. We like to keep our list of right and wrong and measure, compare, ourselves with others. We think this is the measure of holiness.

The true measure of holiness is the attitude in which with live life. This attitude comes from our beliefs about life, our nature, and our hearts. Today take your focus off certain behaviors and stop seeing yourself as "righteous" or not based on questions like "did I read my Bible today?," "am I listening to the right kind of music?," or "I should not have see that movie this weekend." these are good things to be asking. Doing or not doing these things does have an affect on our lives. These things do affect the way that we view life, the passion we live it with, and our attitude, but they have nothing to do with how holy we are. We do things like this to change our attitude and beliefs about life, but they do not make us clean. What makes us clean is living a life of love, compassion, humility, kindness, and service. Living in the way of Jesus. People may want to tell you this is not the way to live, but be ready to have an answer that living the way of Jesus is the best way to live!

Namaste'