A Clear Vision

 . . . 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.

. . .

When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 

But you, when you pray, enter your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 

But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. 

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what things you have need of BEFORE you ask Him.

Therefore pray in this manner:

For if you forgive men for their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men for their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

. . .

. . . .

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.

Jesus teaches us this day that the baskets that are left at the end of this worship service aren't just to sit in place and to go off; they are for us to pick up and take out - to live it out in the world, so that there are bridges that we enable others to find this love of God that we just so accept for ourselves.

It doesn't necessary have to look like us, or believe like us, or even understand God the way that we do, but that we are to offer it to others so that they might find themselves included at the table.

Our Church is kind of a Big Deal.

Our church is kind of a big deal, because we know what God's love is like.

Our Church is kind of a Big Deal, because we know that even sat amongst us this day there are people who don't believe like us or look like us or think like us, but we get to sit at the table together.

We get to sit at the table together!

That is a cool thing our Senior Pastor shared.

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An Extraordinary Adventure

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The elegance of intimacy: obsequiously divine - a closeness, an openess, unreservedness, non-judgmental sweetness, coziness, acceptedness, warmth, a flow, connectedness, that calm, a belongingness - naked truth - awesomeness multiplied. Affinity. Central to love's heart. Curiosity. Central to love's soul. Rapture. Evening's comfort. Togetherness. Morning's joy. Love's touch. Healing each other's wounds. Woo-hoo! Wholeness. Namaste.

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

Accomplishment comes by way of excellence in execution.
To excel, LEARN HOW to do it then PRACTICE.

"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.

What's your experience of wonder?

Phenomenal Life Strategies

Life Strategy # 7: "Put one foot in front of the other. Repeat."

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: Take positive action continuously. "Put one foot in front of the other then repeat. Again and again. And again! Progress." Jesus gets personal with me again, whispering encouragement to choose wisely whose company I keep - who my influencers are - for it makes all the difference along one's journey. (What about you?) Who encircles you? Do you experience real joy - hope, love, peace, kindness - or just long-suffering? Are you shining through or shrouded? Switched on or flipped off? Plugged in or out? Our CONNECTOR is ALWAYS within reach.

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

Welcome to my 'inter-personal' share!

"Every step pressed toward the prize is progress. Press on."

There is a huge difference between loved and lover, between welcomed and wanted, between included and intimate. Huge! The noted difference is not in the quality but in the nature of the relationship!

Can we talk?

Every life lives its unedited story. M-hm? Yes? Got it.

Pause!

What's your story?

Hahahahah! That's the past! What's your story now? This chapter. This sentence. This word.

Gratitude? Growth? Grace? Harmony? Understanding? Confidence?
All good! Positively essential. Highly recommended.
How about . . . intimacy?

That's a biased suggestion, I know. Never change the trajectory of your story unwisely; change it if you must, knowingly, willingly, eagerly, unwaveringly, knowledgably (I so enjoy creating new words), passionately. Ooops! Intimately.

Or someone else might change it for you.

Every good story has unexpected twists and turns on the path to the grand discovery. Isn't that true? But not every story is a good story, a fun story, a story to be read repeatedly, a story that leaves etches on the soul, new streams across the earth, pathways up to the sky! We love those stories. Not everyone though! We do. Those are intimate stories. Laughter. Tears. Shockers. Epiphanies. Oh, dear me. Takes our breath away on a swoop off of our sweating feet up into a new breeze! Another new level. Gratitude. Growth. Grace. Harmony. Understanding. Confidence. All kicked up a notch or more. Progress. I kinda like it, don't you? My Jesus, oh, how I love it that way. Quality!!

What about intimacy?

In its elegance it is simply effective, uncomplicated in its beauty, forthcoming in its wholeness, penetrating in its joy, revealing in its honesty. Its lips are too entralled for wastage of words; breath speaks; eyes speak, the universe is absorbed. Skin is gone. Everything is one! We have what we want. Value.

Metaphor! Point established. "The heart knows what it wants." Riding Moby Dick - brings a large measure of clarity to this necessary want. In and through it all we discover the soul of the matter. Check it out.

Okay, let's fix our eyes on the prize. Let's dive into intimacy a little some more intimately.

The Central Character

You'll probably say no earthly person knows you better than you know yourself! Correct? That makes sense, doesn't it? It sure is running down Scary Alley time, high heels kicked to the sidewalk, the moment we discover breathing down our necks an earthly person who knows us better than we know ourselves. Where we gonna run to? Have diapers handy!

But how well do we really know ourself? It turns out - indepth research reveals repeatedly - we may not know ourself as good-and-awesome as we believe we do. Nope! Not good news! Deception reigns galore. Counterfeit.

It turns out that many of us are horribly out of touch with ourselves. It turns out we are quite adept at pulling the wool over our own eyes. It turns out some of us don't dare wake up to who is lying on our pillow snoring through the night. It turns out that many of us are every bit like peek-a-boo children, running around eyes hidden behind our fingers, thinking if we can't see well we can't be seen. Oh dear! I am not making any of this up and I kinda don't like it.

I see angels shaking their heads.

"Beloved Creator, shouldn't we help?"

"Nope! Leave them alone; they'll figure it out!"

"After how many accidents?"

"As many as necessary! They are quite resillient."

How did we work ourselves into this mess. Well, perhaps, this might help!

We are the central characters in this saga. Don't we owe it to ourselves to dare to confront our REAL nature - the one human who knows us best? I can practically hear a certain creepy mindset grumbling, saying, God is going to clean up the mess. Uh! Lord! Lord, forgive us, something done mess with the mind.

We have a conflict here. It seems we need a certain kind of courage to deal with it and we've got a couple of options. Maybe more. We can go to battle. We'll need weapons - somebody is going down! We can make love. We'll need facilitation - somebody is about to get up. So which should it be? War? Love? Or Status Quo?

Pick war if you're so inclined. Many do. Most choose Status Quo. I say, let's give love - true love - a fair shot. I am amongst the minority. I pick love. Ooooh-weee! Let our imagination become our reality.

Time to get naked with our True Self (our Authentic Personhood).

Strip it all off! (Metaphorically speaking.)

Drop the facade. Rip off the false modesty. Did someone make a mistake creating us? Not me! Let's keep our eyes on the prize. Consider The Beneficiary. Strip it all off! (In our new reality.)

Beginning to feel the boost? No? Impotent! Cold inside?

Shall I tell you a personal story?

No, I will not! You are on your own through this one - its absolutely necessary to dip in the salsa and chew the jalapeno. It's time to get intimate with YOU! Eyes wide open! Experience your truth. Trust me, I've been here! Your biggest beneficiary will be you. Let your guard down. It is going to get chilly for a few moments - or for as long as you refuse to let go of your insecurity and insufficiency and cast your eyes on the prize - the full-blooded truth of your heralded desire - Your Best Self. It is right there! You! Ecstacy is hovering in the wings. Far or near - that's up to you. Explore you! Discover you. Romance you! Oh, the bliss! You can never truly (holistic-ally) be intimate with anyone else (of any nature, earthly or divine) until you get intimate with YOU! Never! But you can fake it. And it can fool you! It happens all the time. Pretence has a price too. What we've discovered is this: every kind and level of relationship is impacted by the quality of our inter-personal intimacy. It is not a magic formula and there is not just one Benefactor. You are! And guess what else - get ready for it - are you ready for it - walla-bing-walla-bang - that is the bible's epic drama! Drum roll! Eh, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong!

Anticipate the wonder of it all.

Why anticipate?

Let's enjoy the experience. We are our stories. What's your story now?

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!

How much quality time do you spend with you?
Put out the Do Not Disturb Sign

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: Press toward the mark with wide open eyes.

Walking is easy - put one foot in front of the other - when you are on your feet! It is awfully hard to walk or run when we are not willing or are unable to stand up! And we'll hardly ever fly if we can't or won't get up. Right?

Here is a moment of pure joy that gives us pause.

It is important whose company we maintain along our journeys. Massively important. There are lots of persons on this journey with you - don't you agree - just listen to the conversations in your head! Ooops!

Is that news? Check out Riding Moby Dick.

Lots of company - all sorts of kinds.

That's one good reason why we need to know ourselves intimately. You cannot imagine until you've done it how many battles you will relieve yourself of, how many distractions will disappear, how much peace and joy you will experience, how much less time you'll spend treating the Omnipotent Omnicience as if you were created to be a condemned begar rather than a wonderfully designed relatable wonder.

Choose well the company you keep in your intimate room. Press toward glory - and there'll be no need to waste so much time trying to convince passers-by how 'holy' and 'better-than' we are; bright light will come shining through. And, yes, mud-splashers will still keep driving by to toss some mud on our travels. That's nothing. Press for the prize eyes wide open. It's a beautiful story. We are whole beings - not just parts - not just spiritual beings - not just physical beings - not just intellectual beings - not just emotional beings - not just (you name it) - we are whole beings, or we can choose to be. Yes, it's a beautiful story. We have the freedom to be or not to be. And I love it.

Intimacy changes the nature and the quality of conversations. It changes the way we walk, the way we talk. It changes wants and needs. It deepens understanding and empathy. It heightens compassion. It alters the relationship irrevocably. Harmony. Confidence. Grace. Gratitude. Growth. Just the beginning. A whole new story! Value. And I love it.

"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!