A Beautiful Life

 . . . the fruit of the Spirit is
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
and self-control.
There is no law (Jewish Law) against such things.

. . .

 Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

  You will know them by their fruit. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? 

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit. But a corrupt tree bears evil fruit.

  A good tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a corrupt tree bear good fruit.

  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

  Therefore, by their fruit you will know them.

. . .

. . . .

Not that I have already attained or have already been perfected, but I follow after it so that I may lay hold of that for which I was seized by Christ Jesus. 

I do not count myself to have attained, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

I press toward the goal to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

living water

I am made in the image of God, not your image of God.

If You're Not Perfect You're Ready

The truth of the gospel is not about a perfect life.

The truth of the gospel is a life of Good News, bearing forth some fruit in our life that will transform us and ultimately transform the world.

That when you look at lives like Abraham and Jeremiah and Timothy; when you look at the lives like Moses and Naomi and Ruth; when you look at those lives, we see that God used them just as they are.

There was no miracle transformation.

God just saw a human being that had the intent of goodness and chose to live out some spiritual awareness through them.

And here we are, and the followers of Jesus, and the followers of those who came before Jesus, and the followers of those who came after Jesus. We find ourselves compelling and inspiring ourselves to, perhaps, become a little more like Jesus, and all that we attribute to Jesus.

We think of ourselves, of how our lives have been transformed and continue to be transformed, and how we might make that difference real in the world. Not just on Sunday Mornings. Not just on Wednesdays when we gather for worship. But to make a difference in the world in everyday living experiences of love and kindness.

You know sometimes I think we've over complicated this thing we call religion.

We've overcomplicated it by our dogmas and by our rules and by our regulations, when those of us who follow in the ways of Jesus, He said to us, all I ask is that you love one another as I have loved you.

There was no asterisk.

There was no explanation.

There was no footnote that was placed at the bottom of the bible, that says love one another only if you are white and male and middleclass and heterosexually married.

The bible said to love one another as I have loved you.

That is a cool thing our Senior Pastor shared.

PROGRAM LISTINGS & PROGRAM SCHEDULES

An Extraordinary Adventure

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Take a moment. Actually, let us all take this moment and be thankful spiders don't fly. Just yet. Yes, take a moment: find out what makes you so very you. Isn't that beautiful? You are awesome.

Welcome to phenomenal life-thriving strategies delivered from the lean side of the mountain and embraced by many on this wondrous journey of life and learning - the continuation of our Extraordinary Adventure series.

"How do we cultivate young people who have the idealism, and the ambition, and the drive, and the passion to start their own journey to bring about meaningful and positive social change?"

You are altogether beautiful, my love;
    there is no flaw in you.

King Solomon

Imagine your future as you want it to be. Don't lose sight of it.
Create space for it: one small act can make a huge difference.

"I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, that one will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.   The thief does not come, except to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Jesus, Son of Man, Prince of Glory, Redeemer.

Who made the mountains? Who made the trees? Who made the rivers flow to the sea? Who sends the rain when the earth is dry? Who made the flowers to bloom in the spring? Who made the song for the robins to sing? Who hung the moon in the starry sky? Yes, all that and way much more! Our mind. Our body. Our spirit. Our soul.

Never let anyone put limits on what you can do! Don't allow it!

Phenomenal Life Strategies

Life Strategy # 14: "Build toward the necessary moment."

Phenomenal life-affirming, life-thriving, life-uplifting strategies are being delivered by Our Lord Jesus on the lean side of the mountain. It's a new life.

Action Plan: Build each step toward your golden moment. Jesus gets personal with me again, whispering words of wisdom, reminding me that false prophets only have sway in broken relationships and lost personal values. There is no go-between in a solid relationship built on tried true values.(What about you?) Are your values shoring you up? Are your relationships supporting you? What is your golden moment?

Rejoice! Be Glad!
We are accompanied.
Many have gone before us.

Welcome to my 'inter-personal' share!

"When people show you who they are, believe them the first time." Maya Angelou

The deep strength, the power, the wonder of who you are, is forged in your hidden and invisible places. True? And now you are in your Grand Arena. (Hopefully.) Let's say.

You have a clear or clearer sense of who you truly are, a skillfully dusted or well-adjusted self-awareness. You are the orphan boy who just discovered you are a wizzard (Harry Potter). Or. You are Pip dreaming of becoming a gentleman (Great Expectations). Or. You are the hurt kid looking for reassurance (Catcher and The Rye). Or. You are the girl who is trying to crack the code of being an American (The Coldest Winter Ever.) Or. You just realized you are Jonathan Swift. Or. You are Celie, voice of The Color Purple. Or. Well, you know! You are who you know yourself to be. And you have entered the Grand Arena. Let's say.

What did you come into the Grand Arena for?

Ah - so precious - that Golden Moment! That is what you are here for: the golden moment.

Why?

'That Golden Moment' is the gift - Your Gift - the gift you want to give to the world! It is priceless. It ts awesome. Blue skies.

Yes! No? Oh!

Got ya!

Story time! You are a star attraction. The roof of that Grand Arena is about to close. Lights on. Sizzling expecations. You are about to hear the umpire's whistle. The battle is about to begin - your first battle for that Golden Moment. Yes, there are going to be a few. We are in that arena too. Don't be scared; you are prepared. Sand in your throat? Par for the course. Rattling knees? Par for the course. You are human. M-hm.

Who is next?

Cue the music! These battles are not the same as struggles endured learning to love, practicing love, experiencing love, being love - Agape, Eros, Philia, Storge. You prepared. Bolstered with confidence, with confidants, with fans, with friends, with the force. You are on the 'light' side. So you signed up for Triumph in this arena. Bare-knuckle battles. But why fight? Must I fight?

You tell me. These battles are not near the same as our collective struggles pushing through The Circle - being closed in, being shut out, reshaping circuitous lines, redefining limits - these encircling battles demand trumpets, battering rams, and bull horns for victory. You prepared. You know your values. You have a plan. You strengthened your skillsets. You are ready. But why fight? Must I fight?

Who cares? You tell me. These battles have no equal with struggles climbing the hill, trudging through the crush of dead bones. These are formidable battles! You - naked in the rip of ravenous wolves. These wolves can smell your sweat. They can smell sweat before it breaks through skin - those cleansed pores. Too late for questions now. Deep breaths! You are on your own.

Which battle will reach you first? Cue thunder and lightening!

The Battle of Or.

Let's say.

Unless you are in a hurry!

You know Or. You've experienced Or. You've had dialogues before. But this is war! You worked all of life's offers to get to this moment. All that practice. All those scenarios. This is the moment. Your moment. You are here. In the Grand Arena. Why the drama? Why the mystery? This is your Zero Hour. But you have no clue it is, even though I am telling you so. You won't know it is until much later. Or do you? This is the moment that will make all the difference in the world to you and everything you stand for. M-hm! And you can lose it like that! Trust me, you'll have an excuse; we'll give you one. Two. Three. Four. More?

But why a battle? Do I have to fight this fight?

You tell me. Are you in a hurry?

You know Or.

Or. Yes, Or! No secret villain this. Well known on every continent in every realm as a friend of a friend of a friend. Or. For whom this foul battle is named. The Battle of Or!

Or, nicknamed Coordinating Conjunction, The Great Connector, The Granter of Alternatives, The soul between evenly outstretched hands. The Priest of Possibilities. Live or Die. Sink or Swim. Or. Well known in each and every land.

Ay-yai-yai. And did you know? Or has a doppelganger in a parallel universe. There, Or is The Gate Keeper, The Predictor, The Prophesier bound by a Truth Table: meet precise conditions or off to hell you go. Or. A friendly fellow. We play sweet games with him. May I take you back into the spring of your journey here.

Dis or Dat

You see! We've been playing with Or pratically most of our lives. But Or is not a sheep. Or is a Ravenous Wolf. And you are very prepared to do battle with a ravenous wolf. The trick is - the deadly trick is - we think we are playing with a sheep. So innocent. So easy. So fun. Or!

Can you recognize Or now - can you see beyond the sheep skin?

No? You've just lost!

Yes? That's probably why you are in a fight - and will lose again, if you are blind to its weapons - those ravenous teeth, those claws, that growl, its wicked speed. Or can tie us in knots, drag us in nets, and toss us off into the slush pile - like that!

Shall I explain? Or would you prefer to figure it out? Should I let you sink or swim? I hear someone shout, "leave us to it!" Oh, I so want exactly that. Out of an abundance of love, let me give you a hint, use these very two offered cases for practice; see if you can spot the trick and escape Or's Innocent Trap.

Sink OR Swim
Live OR Die

There are many around us who are conquering Or, who are escaping Or's trap. And are able to seize their Golden Moment. But Or will always come again. Or is resilient.

Bravo. This warms my heart. Always does. And yet so many, trapped in the net of Or, are sinking because they cannot swim, are dying because they do not live. And not even know it. Or is resilent. A silent killer. A stealthy thief. A massive destroyer. More often than not (I find) Or shows its teeth the moment it shows up. When wolves show you who they are, believe them. No argument necessary. Keep focused on the Golden Moment. Our gift to the world. There is no 'one kind' of a gift. There are a wide array of options.

There is however a moment presaging every passage away from the Golden Moment or is harbinger to its coming glory. It is a most pivotal moment, a moment if missed will siphon us off our golden path, and so long a way around it, our story can turn tragic. It is often there that Or first turns up. Leads us away. Gently. Let's call that moment The Zero Hour. Every great moment in the history of humankind has it. You can check it. Make your Zero Hour count. We will discover more of this in our next series - BTO - which begins in a few weeks, at the end of this Extraordinary Adventure. Much love. And we all lived happily ever after; end of this storytime.

Every person on The High Achiever's Journey. (Click to Check it out). Shout has encountered his or her Zero Hour. Have you? Share. May the force be with you.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. _ Robert Frost

Take time (if need be) to discover, hone, and use your gifts. You'll find useful steps (discovery process, action plans) in Riding Moby Dick. Just Click!

My precious child, be grateful for teachers
who tell you where to look and don't tell you what to see.

GLO-REY!

"I give them eternal life. They shall never perish, nor shall anyone snatch them from My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them from My Father’s hand. My Father and I are one." All things are possible. Start with what is just outside your comfort zone. Believe. Act upon it. Step outside and breathe.

WORD TO THE WISE: We are our stories. We are living our stories. Yet still, while our stories began long, long, long ago, our current story - yours, mine - is not story-time plot-lined with set amount of passages to each and ever page. Our daily actions plot it out. And oh, who can tell what that would be!

"Knowledge that takes you not beyond yourself is far worse than ignorance." Elif Shafak.

Something To Consider

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You are

What POWER!