A Clearer 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.

. . . unless YOUR righteousness

EXCEEDS

the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,

YOU will in NO WAY enter the kingdom of heaven.

. . . .

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.

God's rainbow that set itself in the skies all those generations ago to remind them and remind us of God's covenant with God's people, a covenant that will always be there as we honor the God that is present, the God that is alive, the God that lives within each and everyone of us.

It is that holy covenant that God wanted to ensure that the peoples' heard and that for one reason or another, perhaps, was lost over the generations.

In that understanding God sent Jesus into the world, a human reminder of God's love, of God's compassion, of God's kindness, of God's concern just to have relationship with us.

And it is that arrival of Jesus into the world more thatn two thousand years ago that reminded us and should remind all people that God calls us beloved.

That is a cool thing our Senior Pastor shared.

PROGRAM LISTINGS & PROGRAM SCHEDULES

An Extraordinary Adventure

.
.
.

.
.
.

.
.
.

We live in a dynamic world. True? Everytime we step out from our personal space, our private space, our wholly owned space, into the world at large we are entering a heavily trafficked community where three broad avenues crisscross - Personality, Practice, and Policy. These routes are constantly Under Construction. It seems unwise to ignore the impact (cause and affects) of our inevitable interactions traversing these paths. It is useful, therefore, to know how best to navigate our way and-or CHANGE it.

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

What is your first-up morning routine?
Recomend: meditation, prayer, reflection, yoga, stretch, exercise.

"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.

Who is holding you back or keeping you down?

Phenomenal Life Strategies

Life Strategy # 5: "Repair, ReCharge, Refuel"

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: Get Over Being a Sugar Cookie. "The going will get rough; at times you will fail; sometimes you will fall; schedule time to repair, refuel, recharge, then get back in the race." Jesus gets personal with me again, whispering the lay of the land and encouraging me to get familiar with our new terrain. (What about you?) What level of communication do you enjoy?

Rejoice! Be Glad!
I am with you always.
You are created with decision-making power.

Welcome to my 'inter-personal' share!

"Bullies prey on our broken parts to press the timid and the fearful into submission and retreat. They are like wounded dogs pouncing to cover their bloody leaks." Ashkong, The Battle (SBL Series)

There are many literary, spiritual and hereditary stories of the creation of humanity and its universe, and as many stories of our transformation through to this very moment.

Here, I am being partial to the Genesis versions of our beginnings.

(Besides, Genesis offers some subtle hints about the formation of life, or shall I say secrets or possibilities, which invite deeper exploration. Though I am quite eager to enjoin that exploration, this is not the moment.)

I find the Genesis Story, as commonly told, to be particularly rich and rewarding on a number of levels.

Indeed, we are our stories - living stories - unfinished stories - prescient stories.

For those who have experienced our world from the tumbling rolls of a vast ocean - water-water everywhere, not a spot of land nor hint of harnessed light in sight; for those who with backs on soft greens have surveyed the vast kingdoms of our open sky where manmade light has never crossed and only the flickers of candles invade our clustered dark; for those who have run with unmeasurable speed at the sudden sounds of a thumping roar, or from the cleft of a valley seen a mountain spewing its gut, or at the cracked whips of lightning heard a vexed cloud's thunder, or stood wet-footed eyes square to an unshackled bear, or cuddled fresh bloom flowers in a morning's tender breeze; this genesis story fleshes fuller than the imaginings of many, and at its re-telling (love-wrapped) under a tent stapled to the desert floor on a cold and windy night, creation seems but an infant. Yet, elsewhere, aside, within crushing citadels, sounds shout the end is nigh.

Infants playing with fire!

The smoke is thick. Blood runs wild. Eyes burn. Pretty thieves invade. Coughing children cry. The blood is dry.

"Life will keep repeating the same old lesson until it is learned." Riding Moby Dick. Sometimes life will slam us into the ground. That pain is real.

Learn. Get up! Get back in the race. Use what is earned. Evil does not resign. Love wins at each and every turn. Real love, that is!

Whenever the Storyteller tells me the story again, then again and again, my eyes light up in anticipation of hearing these precious wrapping-up sounds: "And God saw every thing God made, and, behold, it was very good."

Yes! Very good.

Yes! Every thing - very good. Oh, how my eyes sparkle! Did you hear its music too? "Very good." Can I sing it again? "Very good!"

Ooooh-weeee!

I wonder where you, my friend, fit in this picture. Oh, there you are. I see you.

M-hm. "Very good." Intention. "Very good." Completion. "Very good."

Then I get all excited. All flushed. And ready. Listening to every detail, anticipating again and again and again each time the Storyteller, telling this story from a different perspective, approaches the climax of the repeat of this segment of our awesome story - the creation of human beings, each created in the image of God - oh, what a story - for when the Storyteller reaches its climax, its sounds are crowned with this musical gem, "and they were naked, and they were not ashamed!"

Oooooh-weee!

Really?

Really! Say it to me again, for this is sacred stuff. "Naked! Not ashamed!" Oh, dear me. Created in the Image of God! Naked! Not ashamed! Intention. Completion. Satisfaction. "Very good."

So, my Jesus is reminding me of all of this to re-awaken me to something spectacular, in light of my need to schedule repair, and to refuel, and to recharge my being (mind, body, soul and spirit) even when life slams me into the ground and parts get broken.

You see, our story had taken some awful twists and turns to say the least, and Jesus arrived to fix it, to set it all right, to put it back together again, to fulfill the promise, to open the gate, to extend an invitation, to let 'whosover will' in - our choice.

It is a whole new ball game inside the kingdom of heaven. Oh yeah! Our Supreme Editor purchased the manuscript, designed new episodes, entire new plot-lines from never-ending to an ever new begining with, a new title, the original title - Lost In Love. Yes! And gave each of us a contractual option to ink in our own exciting transformational chapters. Holy-Molly! So, let thy kingdom come. I too am lost in love.

Our story from then to this moment has spanned millennia. Yes, millenniums. I cannot recount it in seconds. Nevertheless, at the climax of our joy, in the depth of our innocence, in the freedom of our love (ancestrally speaking), a beguiling evil - with one mighty weapon, Doubt - launched a war of division and destruction, and has kept that war raging outside the kingdom using an inextinguishable fuel, Fear!

Yes, evil, a bully, the monster that preys on our broken parts, the Oppressor in Chief, operates with a singular intention: to turn every heartbeat of love into a fountain of hate! Its avenues to that end are numerous on the outside of the kingdom.

My Jesus is reminding me of such things to arouse a re-awakening to our God of Love, and to the gift of freedom, and to the promise of blessedness, for as the story is told, elements of God's creation were being divided in the destruction. As these were being rebuilt and reunited to the struggle, as peoples were being scattered in brutality and some gathering again in unity, these battles caused such profound existential trauma on the human psyche, on the individual mind, body, soul and spirit, for so the story is told, again and again Love implemented triage, a notable example being The Ten Commandments, which stands to this day, though pummelled, yet remains triage for trauma.

Each new trauma center becomes a new battle ground outside the kingdom. Then my Jesus came. Ha-ha-ha-hah! Oh my Lord! And this enormous challenge was heaped upon this, the one, Lost In Love. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! (It's not funny, you know.) I must pause.

He paid it all. My Jesus purchased life's manuscript. But it is by no means a matter of form weaning freed people from the security of their trauma centers while the psyche is not yet fully healed, aye, and the mystery of the mind remains, even when the soul is covered.

And so when the challenge of the freed is pressed, if I be allowed to tell the story in words I understand, it goes somewhat like this:

And so, my Jesus is whispering to me, it is for our jouney to higher ground and into a newer realm, and it is in response to our very prayer, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth," that you have heard me repeat, nigh how many times, "You have heard it said, but I say to you. You have heard it said, but I say to you. You have heard it said, but I say to you." How many times?

Here, I stress to you, "you but think the deed badly; you've already so done it."

Except one's righteousness EXCEEDS the righteousness, the pettiness, the calling-to-account-ness on every jot tittle, none of which is being removed, that one will in no way enter the realm of heaven. One seeks obedience to law for order's sake. I offer freedom in love for eternity's sake.

Have you any doubt? Are you struck down in fear? I have restored the original intention created by divinity for eternal love's sake. Now it is up to you. The enemy is envious and will not relent. Is it perfection you seek? Then, don't sin. Your enemy seeks division. Your enemy will press upon your broken parts. Who is your enemy?

Who-ah!

So!

Get over yourself, my love. Stop being a sugar cookie. Get up. Repair. Refuel. Recharge. Get back in the race, this time from the new realm - my kingdom - the kingdom of heaven. I delivered 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!

Get Over Being A Sugar Cookie
Repair. Refuel. Retool. Recharge

BOO-YAH!

"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: Repair the body, soul, spirit and mind.

You'd probably agree, I trust, that there is a wide spectrum of parental skills and child development outcomes out there. We tend to tag parents as good or bad. I am not into such tags for many good reasons. What I am discovering is there are parents with great intentions whose strategies and efforts result in unwelcomed outcomes. There are grown kids who have confessed to suffering their growth under bad parentage and testify if given the chance they'd accept that suffering all over again. Hmm? Really? They must surely know what they are saying. I am not about to question such things. None of my business! You can well imagine a spectrum of acts and consequences across the board.

And while one might question or bemoan certain parental strategies and tactics, quite often a parent's undying love for his or her child is unquestionable. For sure, love is not a guarantor of knowledge, wisdom or expertise. These are separate things.

If one feels a compunction to employ tags for these matters, perhaps tags along a range from skilled to unskilled are preferable options. Phew! I am still not a fan. But there you are. Have at it. I am not the expert. Yet, here goes.

It is very dangerous - if not downright criminal - to set a child free to at-will dash across a busy road to a favorite playfield, a road where vehicles are whizzing by with no pedestrian crossing guard or warning in sight.

The very thought of this gives me chills.

And who would want to be that driver! Ooooh!

It is downright criminal - if not psychotic - to chain a child to its bed in a bunker in fear of that child dashing across a busy street where vehicles are whizzing by legally with no expectation a child would be running after some stray ball.

The very thought gives me chills.

And who would want to be that child.

Dear God, help us.

Of course, this scenario is not a binary case, so let me call upon a hypothetical parent and a hypothetical child to dramatize my present excitement. Put on your thinking cap. And hang tight.

This hypothetical parent takes her hypothetical little child to the side of the busy road separating their home from the playfield and says to the child, "My lovie-dovie, sweetie-pie, sugar plum, I don't want to ever lose you. I love you too much. If you ever run across the road on your own you will die. One of these crazy cars will knock you over and crush you into a bloody mess, and you will die, and we will have to bury you in the ground, and we will never see you again, and I will cry forever and ever and ever now that you are dead. So I don't want you to cross this road by yourself. Always wait for me. Hold on tight to my hand. And we will cross the road together. I will be your eyes. I will be your guide. Do you understand me?"

Allow me now to call upon the first of two hypothetical children. What do you think would be the reaction of this first hypothetical child to this scenario? Let's say this is you . . . as a little child, you smart alec; you don't have superhero powers!

Okay, let me do this for you! I can see you want to be a smarty-pants. Let me!

This hypothetcial child is beginning to think that dying does not sound like a good idea so soon. I don't want to be in a hole in the ground. I hate it when mommy cries. It makes me cry. I am going to hold on tight.

And so hypothetical child Number One holds onto mommy tight.

Victory! Obedience! Mommy likes her sweet child. Selfie. Selfie. More selfies.

Time for hypothetical child Number Two. Exact scenario. What will this hypothetical child do?

No, dunder-head, don't be smart-alecky with me. This child will hold on tight too! Maybe. But this child is thinking. What is this child thinking? What do you think this child is thinking?

How about: car drivers are killers, I don't like them, I wish they would die; when I grow up I will become a judge and put them all in jail. No?

How about: why do I have to hold tight to her hand; why doesn't she hold on tight to my hand. No?

How about: why am I going to die; Johnny walked across and Johnny did not die. No?

How about: why is it always my fault when she wants to cry, mommy is not nice. No?

How about: I am never going to like you, becasue you want to bury me in the ground, like Missy Pauley buried her cat. I am not a cat. I am going to run away from home; I'll leave when Papa comes again. No?

How about: I am never going to cross the road again; I am not holding your hand; I am going to stay right here; you can't drag me across; I hate playfields, anyway; the grass makes my skin itch.

Yes, I know, we can carry this game on forever and unleash an array of unpredictable outcomes. That's not the point. Not at all, but one might well recognize the danger and parental predicament. Yes, it depends somewhat on how old this child is. Yes, it depends on what kind of communication exists between the parent and the child. It depends on a whole lot of things, including how broken that family is. Here comes the point.

First, imagine you need to set a firm rule for an entire village of little children who are favored with access to this awesome playfiled.

"Do not cross the road alone or you will die."

Every adult present at the time of its implementation understood that rule and why it was instituted, whether or not they agreed with it. Now when is a villager no longer the one to which this law applies? (By whose interpretation?)

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

Something To Consider

* * *

You are

What POWER!