MEDITATION
COMPASSION

GOOD
NEWS

THE whole chebang IN A NUTSHELL

"‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

JESUS the CHRIST

Nuggets in a Nutshell

Built For It
Best With It

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Jesus the Christ
(Matthew's account)

{ a "secret" . . . able }
{ a "secret" . . . gifted }
{ a "secret" . . . allowed }

What a marvelous privilege! And yet, this takes courage. Not bravado. Strength of mind. Why? Should it? Let's begin with being. There is a joyous sweetness (a preciousness) in being - wholehearted being! Allowing doing to rise up out of authentic being has proven enormously fruitful time and again. In some environments, however, "being" takes courage. A backbone. It takes courage to own one's uniqueness, to be wholly integrated, to step into, to let this awesome light do its own shining. Regardless of environment it takes effort and discipline to train, to acquire skills, to build strength and endurance, to keep learning, to create, to climb, to commit to authentic purpose, to let go, to move on. That's growth! There-through, let the light shine. Life is dynamic and colorful and full of rich nuances. It may take courage to live true but it is worth that journey. You are not alone in your complexity. We are not alone; we've got phenomenal company. Isn't that awesome? It is foolish to pay scammers tolls or talents for what's been paid by the Giver and Sustainer of Life. Did Christ come in vain? Shine.

Skillset - 06 - building, strengthening, expanding.

CRACK THE NUT

Dear Friend,

A Sparkling Gem

Nicolette Sowder

"Give me the wild children with their bare feet and sparkling eyes. The restless, churning climbers. The wild ones using their outside voices, singing all the way home. Give me the wonder-filled, glorious mess makers dreaming of mountains and mud, aching to run through a field of stars."

Isaiah, the Prophet

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners."

Bishop Gene Robinson

"It's funny isn't it? That you can preach a judgmental and vengeful and angry God and nobody will mind. But you start preaching a God that is too accepting, too loving, too forgiving, too merciful, too kind . . . and you are in trouble."

Desmond Tutu

"You may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.."

- A Sprinkling of Salt -

LEADERS - INNOVATORS - CREATORS - ACHIEVERS
(Skills, Techniques, Tactics, Fixes, Strategies)

Dear God, grant me victory today over all that assails. Help me square up to even the greatest challenges and claim authority over them, unafraid. Amen.

Joshua Dubois
PRAYERS

What it Takes

Nurturing Excellence

"It was not enough to come and listen to a great sermon or message every Sunday morning and be confined to those four walls and those four corners. You had to get out and do something."

- John Lewis