Life {re}Defined

What Matters Most

2009-03-02T14:48:00.000-05:00

Knowledge is power, but too much knowledge can blind you to the Truth.

Your Choice

2009-02-27T09:17:00.000-05:00

"Responsible people do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice."

Divine Arithmetic

2009-02-24T08:12:00.001-05:00

"Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch."

Giving

2009-02-18T20:57:00.002-05:00

I'd rather say "You're welcome" once,

Than "Thank you" a thousand times.

Promises

2009-02-10T13:52:00.002-05:00

Promise Only What You Can Deliver

then

Deliver More Than You Promise

You've Got To Be Carefully Taught

2009-02-04T10:35:00.007-05:00

You've Got To Be Taught

to Hate And Fear,

you've Got To Be Taught

from Year To Year,

it's Got To Be Drummed

in Your Dear Little Ear

you've Got To Be Carefully Taught.
-

You've Got To Be Taught To Be Afraid

of People Whose Eyes Are 'Oddly' Made,

and People Whose Skin Is A Diff'rent Shade,

you've Got To Be Carefully Taught.

You've Got To Be Taught Before It's Too Late,

before You Are Six Or Seven Or Eight,

to Hate All The People Your Relatives Hate,

you've Got To Be Carefully Taught!

Faith then Hope

2009-01-20T10:11:00.008-05:00

Welcome to another, but not just another, Inauguration Day. Inauguration 2009.

Our first black,white,biracial, mixed president; choose your own label.

Our new president has his job cut out for him and I hope that he gets the job done.

As we pray for him, let us remember that the Obamas, the Reagans, the Churchills, the Moses, the King Sauls, and the other great leaders of this world merit hope....

Our Faith should always be in Jesus the Christ and He alone.

Nothing has changed.

A Matter of Priority

2009-01-04T12:51:00.001-05:00

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.

2008-12-25T21:20:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas

and
Happy Hanukah

all

Where Size Matters

2008-12-16T12:08:00.001-05:00

You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list.
The longer your list, the smaller your God.

Your Past Isn't What It Used to Be

2008-12-12T13:07:00.005-05:00

During my high school years I walked to school many mornings with a classmate. One day as an act of Support I reached my arm around his shoulder and hugged him lightly. My friend was uncomfortable with this motion and politely threw my arm off his shoulder. I felt embarrassed and we both said nothing. At the end of the senior year we were off to college and we went our separate ways. For a long time, however, when I thought about him I recalled that awkward moment.

Recently I received a message from my wife: "Mr. R called and said he misses walking to school with you." Delighted to hear from my old friend, I phoned him and the next time I was in his city we met for lunch. As we began to reminisce, I confessed, "Sometimes I still feel weird about the morning I put my arm around your shoulder and you tossed it off." He looked perplexed. "I don't remember that at all," he told me sincerely. "All I remember is that you always waited for me, sometimes even in the rain."

I was stunned. For all those years one of my primary memories of my friendship with him was built around my perceived error. Meanwhile all he remembered was the Good. What a waste of my Thought and Energy! And how wonderful it felt to know that he had always Appreciated me.

While you have many possible alternative futures, you also have many alternative pasts. Out of literally billions of experiences in your Life, you have chosen to focus on only a small number of selected events and call it "my past." You may think of events A, G, M, and W as your past, but you could also consider events B, D R, and Z as your past. If you focus on traumatic or self-defeating moments as your past, you will call forth sorrow or loss and your future will replicate them. If you focus on Empowering and Self-Honoring events as your past, you will call forth Appreciation and inner Peace, and your future will deliver you more experiences to match them.

Like my friend, the people who Love you, your Abba Daddy and His universe that loves you may all hold an entirely more appreciative view of you and your past than you do. They are closer to the Truth. Would you be willing to question what you believe is your past, so you can have a better one?

A wise book tells us, "The one wholly True thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here." It also notes that ..."all of your past is gone except for the Blessings it has bestowed". In this sense, any interpretation you hold of your past other than absence or Healing is invalid. It's time to get a new past.

As this year comes to a close, you might like to review your experiences to consider which ones you would like to take with you into the new year. Perhaps there have been pains, upsets, and losses. There have also been Joys, Gains, and Healing. You may also recognize that the pain, put in proper perspective, has contributed to Clarity, Healing, and Advancement. So the chaff is gone and the Wheat remains. You can carry last year's pain into next year if you choose, but that is entirely unnecessary and counter to your Good. Let the slate be wiped clean for the new year so it can build on the Good of last year.

You can make Anything out of anything, and your past is no exception. The past is not a static historical event. You are creating it at this moment as you think about it. How you view it determines what it is and was. Many people wish they could go back and make different decisions in the past so they could create a different outcome. At this very moment you can make a different decision about your past and instantly create a better future.

View the past as your enemy, and it will be an albatross. View it as your Friend, and it will give you Wings, and in Appreciation you will Pray, "Thanks for everything. I have no complaints whatsoever".

Happy Old Year.

Forgiveness

2008-12-12T09:04:00.001-05:00

Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Stop and think

2008-12-08T08:29:00.001-05:00

We occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of us pick ourselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.

Thanks Giving

2008-11-25T11:34:00.004-05:00

The story is told about a wise and renowned woman named Sono who taught the people in her town one very simple method of Awareness. She advised everyone who came to her to adopt a prayer to be said many times a day, under all conditions. The prayer was, "Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever."

Many people from all arenas of life of many villages came to Sono for advice. Some were in physical pain; others were emotionally distraught; others had financial troubles; some were seeking soul liberation. No matter what their distress or what question they asked her, her response was the same: "Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever." Some people went away disappointed; others grew angry; others tried to argue with her. Yet some people took her suggestion to heart and began to practice it. Tradition tells that everyone who practiced Sono’s prayer found peace and healing.

The other day I ran into my friend Lisa, an attractive woman in her late 30’s, whom I had not seen in several years. She informed me that a year earlier she had been diagnosed with a brain disorder that required immediate surgery. The surgery was done, a steel plate was inserted in her head, and her doctor keeps her under close observation. Lisa reported that now she lives from day to day. Privately I told Lisa that I was sorry she had gone through this whole ordeal. "Oh, don’t be sorry," she told me emphatically. "I’m not sorry at all. This was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It really got me to appreciate my life and relationships. I married a wonderful chap and we are thinking about having children. I wouldn’t trade the experience if I could."
Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you simply dropped your complaints? It’s a radical proposal, since most of us have been trained to question, analyze, and criticize everything we see. But then we often end up destructively criticizing ourselves. Then we miss out on Joy, the only true measure of success.

A wise person once proclaimed, "All a sane person can ever think about is giving Love." One evening I received a phone call from my friend Cliff, a Jewish fellow from Brooklyn who discovered this proclamation and became a world-class Love exuder. Cliff just went around finding Good and Beauty in everyone he met.

On the phone, Cliff told me, "I just called to tell you how much I love and appreciate you."

"Well, thank you Cliff," I answered, delighted. "I really appreciate that... What prompted you to call me at this moment?"

"My knee was hurting me, and I knew that the only way I could feel better would be to give more Love. So I began to think of the people in my life who I care about, and you came to mind."
Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.

As we approach the holiday of Thanksgiving, many of us will be getting together with our families. Perhaps family issues may come to the fore and we might be tempted to fall into a pattern of rehashing old resentments and arguments. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if, as we sat with our relatives, we held in mind, "Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever." Imagine what this Thanksgiving would be like if we decided that no matter how much mom complained about dad; how much dad bugged us about getting a real job; or how unspiritual our "ex" is, we chose to be an unstoppable appreciation machine and found the good in our loved ones. Indeed this would be a triumphant Thanksgiving to remember!

Yes, I know, there is a voice inside you objecting, "But if I did not complain, people would walk all over me and selfish opportunists would genetically manipulate my food and terrorists would keep crashing airplanes into buildings and ... and... Got it. Now if you went to Sono, her response would be, "Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever." I am simply suggesting that we practice the prayer for an entire Thanksgiving day. And then maybe one day a week. Then we might start to feel so good and our lives will become so effective that we want to turn every day into Thanksgiving.

The Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, shows that God considers the highest form of prayer to be Gratitude. Instead of asking God for stuff, start thanking God for stuff, and you will find that God has already given you everything you could want or need, including the adventure of discovering more riches every day. Life is a big treasure hunt. Eventually we grow weary of seeking treasures outside ourselves, and we begin to look within. There we discover that the Gold we sought, we already Are. The Beauty we overlooked because we were focusing on what is missing, still lives and awaits us like an anxious lover. As a wise person nobly noted, "The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.

Point to Ponder

2008-11-18T15:23:00.002-05:00

You are never finished, but always complete.

Point To Ponder

2008-11-07T16:10:00.005-05:00

Do you believe that it is true that we are made in God's image? If this is true, then there must be a female side to God. We aren't all men, after all. I've been pondering and -on some preprogrammed level- rejecting this idea because I was raised to believe that God is male.

How many little boys have been handed God in a box where He is mostly our football buddy and our fellow weekend warrior, a fellow guy to identify with and thus who understands us more than our loving but quaint wives ever could? Do we and God leave the family cave together emotionally, spears in hand, to go and kill the food and drag it back home to feed the wife and kids while God and us reminisce about man stuff?

How many little girls have been handed God in a box where He is mostly their body guard or the masculine Brut and Old Spice father, not someone to talk with so much as someone to talk to? Hugs and kisses to a point, even butterfly kisses at night, but not the nurturing bond of two soft and tender souls?

Are you willing to take God out of the box and know all of Him? Are you willing to share the one True consistent God with all of your children, regardless of their gender? Or will you first choose a box.

What Now?

2008-11-05T08:14:00.004-05:00

Well the verdict came in: President Elect Barack Obama.

I then opened my Bible to see what God was thinking now, and this is what I found....

Nothing has changed.

Election Point to Ponder

2008-10-31T09:58:00.001-04:00

The reason the world seems to be run by idiots is that it is already being run by a Genius, and anyone who seeks to assume that position must be an idiot.

SLOW DANCE

2008-10-23T09:38:00.001-04:00

This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital...

SLOW DANCE
----------
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,"hi"

You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

Not So Fast

2008-10-22T11:47:00.003-04:00

My family and I enjoy road trips; as a matter of fact, we enjoyed another one this past weekend. We had a wonderful time; much better than we had planned with more than one surprise to spice things up. The first surprise appeared when the fellow across the desk told us that they were out of minivans despite our having made our reservation weeks prior. So we ended up with a fullsize gashog of a van.
By the time we started loading up, we were already 2 hours late. By the time my wife was satisifed with the state of the luggage and the house locks and the aquarium and the steam iron and the stove, we were 3 hours late.
Personally, I know that I could have gotten myself on the road right on time or even a head of time. During my loner days, I was always proud of beating the clock. But now that I am a husband and a father I realize that...

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together".

and the Winner Is.....

2008-10-10T11:59:00.001-04:00

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 wolves.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

The Truth Of Religious Liberty # 3

2008-10-10T08:30:00.005-04:00

"It is impossible to have religious freedom in any nation where churches are licensed by the government." Congressman George Hansen.

The courts well-understand that “a church is not an entity recognized in law,” meaning that they have no jurisdiction over the church. However, organizing a church as a church is an especially difficult concept for attorneys to grasp. The legal support for the State’s lack of jurisdiction over the church in America is not only the Word of God, but also our very own First Amendment to the Constitution for the United States. No church in any nation at any point in history can lay claim to the freedoms and liberties that are guaranteed the church in America. The First Amendment is an act of God’s Providence to safeguard His church and maintain its independence from the State.

The federal government's recognition of the rights and opportunities of the church in America, is not something that any other nation's government recognizes or in many cases, tolerates. If we believe that this by Godly design and not by random chance, then we will be vigilant to not just sing hyms sit in pews and tithe 10%, but to also get involved in all aspects of our spiritual lives. Giving 10%, 20%, 30% or even 100% merely builds bigger church groups and funds more programs. What is needed isn't bigger Churches groups or even a certain president; what is needed are people who retain their free and unhindered voice, value it, and are willing to die for using it if necessary. To do otherwise is merely the pomp and circumstance of a religious club.

Again, let us not be content with merely being actors in the play of our lives, but let us be directors in our Godly destinies. Let us not be distracted by the varying denominational and theological opinions on the likes of Chronicles of Narnia or the Davinci Code ad infinitum, while more pertinent issues fall by the way side. Let us put ourselves back where we belong: under God who needs no defending, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all. Let us put our government back in its place: keep tabs on what your elected officials are up to and let them know what you expect of them...and last but not least: Be aware.

[the End]

Point to Ponder

2008-10-06T09:36:00.003-04:00

"Worry is a misuse of the imagination."

The Truth Of Religious Liberty # 2

2008-10-06T08:55:00.003-04:00

In my first posting on The Truth Of Religious Liberty, I explained the relationship of religion to the founding of America, as well as the series of events which led to religious liberty in America. Now let's fast forward and discuss the greatest threat to religious liberty in the history of the human race; ironically the threat is being perpertrated by the religious because we are ignorant of the history and mechanics of religious liberty.

First please read this article titled "Churches to defy IRS on sermons" and then my followup below...

Ever since I read the American Consitution and subsequently became an American citizen, I have been flabbergasted as to why church groups and other religious organizations are violating Divine Law by incorporating themselves as 501c3 tax-exempt religious organizations, and with good reason. I am going to give you those reasons and then I am going to ask you to bring this information to the attention of those church group and religious organizations with whom you are affiliated.

Back in the early 1950's Senator Lyndon B. Johnson finally had enough of the church's significant influence on shaping public/government policy and so he set out to silence his nemesis, the church. He did so in 1954 by giving the church a financial advantage by adding them to section 501c3 of the tax code.

This gift from Johnson is -debatedly- the worst curse placed upon the church in America, because it comes with strings attached -dangerous strings. Churches who become 501c3 corporations make themselves entities/persons/children of a civil government, grant jurisdiction of themselves to that government, exist solely at the discretion and pleasure of that government, and are subject to the whims and will of that government; they become creatures of the State instead of God. Since 1954 more and more restrictions are being placed upon what these church groups can say against anything that the government declares is legal or allowed without threatening that precious tax-exempt status.

Church groups are unwittingly selling out to 501c3 because they either don't know better, or because "everyone else is doing it", or upon the advice of attorneys and CPAs, or out of greed or selfish ambition. All of these reasons would cease to exist if churches were to simply take God seriously, become knowledgeable, employ wisdom, and seek reliable Godly advice instead of unreliable secular advice. Instead, our own seminaries and Bible colleges are espousing the 'virtues' if not the 'necessity' of 501c3.

Now here is the kicker: the IRS has always recognized that according to the American constitution, church group are by their very nature, automatically tax-exempt and tax-deductible.

Go the the IRS website via Google and research the following for your self...

1: The First Amendment to the American COnsitution states that Congress shall make NO LAW respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the FREE exercise thereof.
2: IRS Publication 557 acknowledges and states that churches, interchurch organizations of local units of a church, conventions or associations of churches, or integrated auxiliaries of a church, such as a men's or women's organization, religious school, mission society, and youth groups are automatically tax-exempt and tax-deductible.
3: IRS Code § 508(c)(1)(A) uses the mandatory exception rule from 510c3 for: churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.
4: IRS Publication 526 also states that a donor can deduct contributions only to qualified organizations and that to become a qualified organization, most organizations OTHER THAN churches and governments must apply to the IRS

In the words of Steve Nestor, IRS Sr. Revenue Officer (ret.):"I am not the only IRS employee who’s wondered why churches go to the government and seek permission to be exempted from a tax they didn’t owe to begin with, and to seek a tax deductible status that they’ve always had anyway. Many of us have marveled at how church leaders want to be regulated and controlled by an agency of government that most Americans have prayed would just get out of their lives. Churches are in an amazingly unique position, but they don’t seem to know or appreciate the implications of what it would mean to be free of government control." ...

Have we learned nothing from the Bible? Have we learned nothing from history?

[to be continued]

The Truth Of Religious Liberty

2008-10-02T14:25:00.012-04:00

Most people are of the mistaken belief that the pilgrims came to America in order to have religious freedom for all, free from government interference, and that this is guaranteed by the original Constitution; in fact, they actually came here to establish their own brand of Christianity free from the Church of England, from other Protestant denominations, and from the Catholic Church, and religious freedom is not mentioned in or guaranteed by the Constitution.

America was not primarily settled by people seeking religious freedom; the separation of church and state did not result from the activism of secularists or the Pilgrims, but, paradoxically, from the efforts of 18th-century evangelicals resulting in The First Amendment To The Constitution; and the American Revolution was as much a reaction against European theocracy as a struggle for economic and political freedom.

Even in 1771, our country was a much different place spiritually. Most of the first colonies subsidized their "chosen" ministers' salaries with tax revenue. Yes, pastors were paid by the government. People like Isaac Backus in Massachusetts were arrested and John Leland, John Weatherford, and David Barrow were assaulted by mobs and beaten with whips. Others taught that hymns were worldly and immoral and that only the Psalms should be sung. In Caroline County Virginia, 6 people were arrested for the "immorality" of adult baptism; at that time, most people thought adult baptism was like a "get out of jail free card" in regards to sin. They were not alone. New York state celebrated the anti-Catholic "Pope Day". Only 3 of the 13 colonies allowed Catholics to vote. You see, most settlers had come to America so that they could worship separately from other forms of religions. And Protestants, Catholics, and everything else besides the state's chosen (usually Puritan) religions were those other forms. They wanted to worship in the way they chose and to still kick out those who did not.

Obviously, we are a much different place today. What caused such change that brought not only a spiritual change called "religious liberty" but its political equivalent termed by Thomas Jefferson as "a wall of separation between church and state"? Two things among others made it possible, according to Steve Waldman, author of the book Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the birth of Religious Freedom in America.

The first was the persecution of nonPuritan Christians in the state of Virginia. The nonPuritans did not want the state governments to use tax dollars to pay the salaries of clergy and the Baptists did not want to be forced to baptize their children until they could speak for themselves. After a while, ‘Separate Baptists’ were exempted from the taxes in Virginia , but they had to verify their Christian heritage, be certified by their respective denominations, and prove they still attended church services regularly(how times have changed). But this was not enough, so Roger Williams started the first Baptist church in a free state called Rhode Island, but it took John Leland's problems with the magistrates of Virginia to awaken the concerns of James Madison.

The second was the message spread by George Whitfield in 1739; a message that ignited the flames of spiritual fervor so great in early America that more people started attending church services, and more church groups were started. There were so many different kinds of beliefs, religious liberty as expressed in the First Amendment To The Constitution provided freedom to all the new growing movements, but made sure that church groups did not try to meddle in the business of partisanship and that the government would likewise not meddle in religion; this amendment is also specifically addressed in current IRS regulations. Thanks to James Madison, The First Amendment became the way to hold the church groups accountable to each other instead of to the government. The founders of our country, many of whom were Godly people and even "Christians", eventually realized that faith coerced, compelled, or even funded was not True Faith. When the First Amendment To The Constitution was ratified, the states finally stopped subsidizing salaries, and as a result, we now have true Religious Freedom.

[to be continued]

Brazil vs. USA

2008-10-01T10:47:00.002-04:00

To the McCainanites and the Obamanation...

2008-09-30T08:29:00.009-04:00

here is a reminder that among all the political and economic decisions that are in front of us, the most important decision in our lives is whether to live by hope or by Faith...

"There are two kinds of people: Those who believe their lives are determined by forces outside themselves, and those who believe that their lives are determined by a Divine Force inside themselves. The first live by hope and are swayed by the winds of change; the second live by Faith, knowing that no matter what happens, they are always alright."

Our beloved America -and planet earth on a whole- is an airport, nothing more and nothing less. Many of us are getting so caught up in who we want to run the airport that we are losing sight of our eternal destination. Yes, the airport experience is important, but not important enough for us to segregate ourselves by political-party affiliations and skin colour; nothing in Life requires that, only our own insecure fears.

Right Where You Are

2008-09-29T10:47:00.000-04:00

The foolish person seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under their feet.

Enjoy the Journey

2008-09-22T09:23:00.004-04:00

Here is an invitation to enjoy your ever unfolding journey of Life...
To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with Spring.

Submit to Your Husband

2008-09-19T13:08:00.008-04:00

...is one of the greatest fallacies ever perpetrated upon women, the family, and upon humanity, and is one of the biggest lies put in the mouth of God by His followers and anyone else.

And no wonder, since it is a notion essential to the undermining of Divine personal worth, the institution of marriage, and society in general.

It is amazing to me how many of us have been so well programmed that we can read a paragraph that clearly says,"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it"...

and no matter how many times we look at it and reread it, what our brain sees is...

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is ahead/better/smarter/more Divinely favoured than the wife, even as Christ is ahead of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be under their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, and in payment you get to do whatever you want whenever you want with impunity."

What is the difference between the Truth and the lie? There is a huge difference. What God is saying is simply that wives and husbands should love each other to the exclusion of others, and that women are wired on a conscious level to do this by giving all of themselves only to the man they are married to and that men are wired on a conscious level to do this by being willing to protect his wife with his life. You see, a woman can know that she is completely and truly in love with a man when she gives him all of herself: her heart, her past, her present, her future, her pain, her joy, her masks, her friends, her hopes, her dreams, her tears, her fears, her triumphs, her failures, her bare naked uncosmetized self. And a man can know that he is completely truly in love with a woman when he knows that he would die to his ego and to himself and even physically for her without hesitation.

So God is simply saying the same exact thing twice, "Love each other completely" but He is saying it in the language that each gender understands. Isn't He wise?

Now let's take this a step further and see how dangerous the concept of "the submissive wife" truly is...

First, let us assume that no husband is perfect. So now if a wife is truly submissive, then she would have to actually withhold her gifts, talents, advice, wisdom, intelligence, insight, experience, and her Divine connection from her husband. And in so doing isn’t she actually allowing or even creating opportunities for her husband to fail on earth and eternally. You see, the submissive wife is actually doing the exact opposite of what God wants her to do: she is withholding herself instead of giving all of herself.

God is not a respecter of husbands and not of wives. He did not give men both the brains and the brawn, and leave the woman as the pawn.

But here is what I don't understand. Why would any sane man be interested in having a submissive wife? If for no other reason than the selfish reason of 'not wanting to mess up', a man would -out of the need to survive- accept all the help he could get instead of just help washing his socks. Why would a man who is not proud and who does have self-esteem and self-respect want a wife who will tell him only what he wants to hear and stroke his ego and does what he wants even if it is wrong?

My wife and I and our children sat down and talked about these issues before we decided to get married. I shared with them that I had no intention of marrying a submissive wife and that in God's dictionary(the only one that counts) there is actually no such thing because "submissive" and "wife" are mutual exclusive words. She shared with us that she would never think of marrying an unprotective/unloving husband. My wife freely gives me the good news and the bad news, compliments and criticisms, praise and correction, acclaim and admonishment; she communicate with me. She gives me the Truth when I need to hear it, not if and when I feel like hearing it. I am her head and so I use that vantage point to watch out for her and protect her and she makes sure that my head doesn't get too big for my helmet of salvation or so small that my helmet falls off. She is the heart that pumps blood into me and our children and gives me all the nutrients with which God has blessed her.

My wife and I Love each other in the Biblical way and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Peace

2008-09-18T10:28:00.004-04:00

I have been ill and basically in bed for the past 3 weeks. My illness was due to part genetics, part ignorance, and part fate. There were times when the 'ignorance' aspect really got to me and caused me to tamper with self blame and anger towards my uninformed destructive choices. But God was always there reminding me through my family and through subtle small ways, that no matter what happens, I must stay committed to the Peace that passes all understanding. One of these small reminders is a man I once read about.

A monk was incarcerated for 18 years as a political prisoner of the Chinese. After he was released, an interviewer asked him if he was ever in serious danger. "Yes, about three times", the monk explained. "How so?", the interviewer asked him. "Were you tortured?" ... "Yes, but the torture is not what I am referring to", the monk replied. "I am referring to the times when I grew angry".

The monk was affirming that his primary commitment was to Spiritual Peace, and he evaluated his success in life by how much he stayed connected to that Peace. His body could be incarcerated, but not his soul.

You and I have our "to-do" lists which determine what we would like to get done in a day. Yet it maybe equally (or even more) valuable to create a "to-feel" or a "to-be" list that sets our intentions for the kind of experience we want to have during out day, regardless of the outer events.

As spiritual beings, it is the Spirit in which we live that satisfies us. Even if you get angry or lose your center, see how quickly you can return to your sense of joy and clarity. Then you will find yourself in less danger and more safety every day. I did.

Life In The Old Country

2008-09-17T09:10:00.002-04:00

The horse looks very concerned.

Come Fly With Us

2008-09-10T00:38:00.001-04:00

Can't be too carefull!

2008-09-03T08:28:00.002-04:00

Who Packs Your Parachute?

2008-08-27T23:37:00.010-04:00

I fell ill last week prompting a visit to the ER and lots of morphine. Today makes 8 days out of commission. My wife and children are so good to me, even our 9mo makes my excrutiating pain easy to bare. They remind me of this inspiring story.....

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb..

"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.

My family, this post is my way of thanking you for packing my parachute. And I hope that you, my readers, will send this story on to those who have helped pack yours!

Have a Grate(full) Day.

Holy Moses!

2008-08-27T22:18:00.001-04:00

What to Admire

2008-08-25T17:18:00.000-04:00

When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.

You have been Tagged.

2008-08-20T15:32:00.006-04:00

I was tagged on Tuesday by my wife Amy for 6 random things about myself. Don't forget to see my Wordless Wednesday post below...

1. I was born on my father's birthday.

2. 8 years ago, in order to please my children and my mom, we spent about a year to make the ultimate wish list of "The Perfect Wife and Mother". Since I personally was not looking to get married, I made sure it was a very detailed, very picky, very LOOoonngg list. 5 years 8 months ago my children met a lady who matched every single item on our list and then some. 2 months later we were married. It turns out that our list pales in comparison to our amazing wife and mother. Blessed we are!

3. I've never had to buy a Disney ticket thanks to my brother who is an Imagineer.

4. When I was 7 years old, I shut off the microphone of a visiting preacher who was misleading my father's congregation. My dad caught me red handed in the sound room. Since the chapel seated a couple thousand people and most of them could no longer hear the preacher anyway, my father simply went back into the chapel and closed the service and everyone went home.

5. The worse moment of my life started when I saw my oldest daughter's ATV go off the side of a mountain road in Colorado. It ended 2 minutes later when I saw her limp body begin to move as I frantically hiked down toward her 100 feet below.

6. The best moment of my life is: NOW.

Tag you are it!

---

The Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules to your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

Experiment with Letting Go

2008-08-19T11:20:00.008-04:00

In his novel The First Circle, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn quotes a Russian proverb: "It’s not the sea that will drown you, it’s the puddle". Most of us will not be martyrs. Instead, we will be caught up in a war of attrition: the war of everydayness. That everydayness will often defeat us from seeing the superabundance of Love, of spirit, and yes, goods, that God makes available to the children of God. That everydayedness makes us cling to the earthly familiar. That everydayedness makes us cling to the opinions and admiration of the others who are also caught up in their everydayedness. We are only too happy to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, and turn the other cheek if anyone should strike us, but yet we are too fear-full to risk the disapproval of or be disowned by the people to whom we have given away our Power.

On the island of Crete they remember the old man who loved his land with a deep and beautiful intensity, so much so that when he perceived he was about to die he ordered his sons to bring him outside and lay him on his beloved earth. As he was about to breath his last, he reached down by his side and clutched some earth into his hands. He died happy.

Later, when he arrived at heaven’s gates, God answered as an old white-bearded man.

"Welcome," God said. "You’ve been good; come into the joys of heaven." But as the old man started through the gate, God said, "Please. You must let the soil go." "Never!" said the old man stepping back. "Never!"

God departed sadly, leaving the man at the gate. A few eons went by, and God came out again, this time as an old friend. They had a few drinks, told some stories, and God said, "All right, now it’s time to enter, friend. Let’s go." As they started for the gate, God once more requested the old man let go of his soil, and once more he refused.

More eons rolled by. God emerged again, this time as a delightful and playful granddaughter. "Oh granddaddy," God said, "you’re so wonderful, and we all miss you. Please come inside with me."

The old man nodded, and she helped him up for by this time he had grown old and arthritic. In fact, so arthritic was he that he had to prop up the right hand holding Crete’s soil with his left. As they moved toward the gate, his strength gave out. His gnarled fingers could no longer stay clenched, and the soil sifted out until his hand was empty.

He then entered heaven, and the first thing he saw was his beloved island.

We clutch at what we have, and miss what we really have waiting for us in this Life. It’s been said that true Christian living is experimental. There is no code of laws or detailed plan, no do-this-and-get-your-reward standard, for as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God —not the result of works".

Experiment with letting go. Start operating out of abundance instead of scarcity.

Release your grip on people and stuff. Watch and see if you don’t find what you want. See if you don’t already have so much that there is something left over, something to give, the cup of your Life full and running over. Just see.

How Do You See What Do You See?

2008-08-15T10:40:00.010-04:00

14-year old Ben Underwood is a master of many things - rollerblading down the street, video games, and pillow fighting. No big deal, right? Actually, it is a big deal -- Ben is blind. Physically, since birth. Yet he has developed a kind of sonar that tells him where objects are -- and he doesn't miss.

You will be astounded at this amazing video, showing Ben doing all the things that eye-sighted children can do - and better (like beating his friends on video games).

While scientists have their theories about Ben's extraordinary sonar capacities, I have mine. God tells us that real sight is not of the eyes, which is why He looks at our hearts. It is interesting what Ben sees when he looks at people; he doesn't see the tint of our skin or the face of our 'race'. But I'll let him share that with you himself.

Enjoy....

Don't Blink

2008-08-13T21:46:00.005-04:00

Here's a song that came out a few months ago that I really like and I wanted to share it with you ... entitled "Don't Blink".

What to Ask For

2008-08-12T09:07:00.006-04:00

A man walks into a restaurant with a large ostrich and sits down at a table to have breakfast. The man orders a stack of pancakes, and the ostrich orders the same. The bill comes to $15.95. The man reaches into his pocket and empties all his bills and change, which equals exactly $15.95 plus a 15% tip.

The following week the man returns to the restaurant with the ostrich and the same waitress comes to his table. This time he orders bacon and eggs, and so does the ostrich. The bill comes to $19.50. He reaches into his pocket and takes out exactly $19.50 plus a 15% tip.

A week later he comes in again with the ostrich. They both have the same meal. The same waitress presents a check for $18.75. The man empties his pockets and reveals exactly that amount plus the appropriate tip.

By this time the waitress is quite curious. "I am astounded, sir, that you take this ostrich to breakfast every week, and that you always have the exact amount of money," she explains. "How do you do that?"

"It’s an amazing story," he answers. "Several years ago I was cleaning my basement and I found an old bottle. When I opened it, a genie emerged. He told me I could have two wishes. My first wish was to always have enough money to buy anything I wanted. Now, wherever I go, I simply reach into my pocket and the exact amount of money is there. I buy all my meals this way; I have also bought a car, house, and vacations and no matter how much anything costs, I have the exact amount in my wallet or checkbook."

"That’s astonishing!" replies the waitress. "And what was your second wish?"
"To marry a chick with long legs."

This story teaches a profound Truth: Be conscious of what you are asking for. You can Pray for something specific and get it. Or you can pray for a quality of Life, and get that. Praying for specifics is risky, for you are dictating a form. Praying for essence guarantees reward, for you are seeking an experience.

Emerson noted that...
"A wise man in a storm prays not for the end of the storm, but for the end of fear."

Get clear on where you want to go, and let God fill in the blanks about how to get there.

What Heaven Asks

2008-08-11T11:06:00.006-04:00

"Heaven asks nothing. It is hell that makes extravagant demands for sacrifice."

Social and theological doctrines would like us to believe that the above statement is not true.

That, "Heaven makes extravagant demands for sacrifice. Hell asks nothing." Oddly enough this is an erroneous belief that mainstream christian theology, atheists, and rejectors of Jesus all have in common. We are led to believe that the Bible states over and over that we must sacrifice and sacrifice much in order to attain eternal Life and that the Bible even gives examples of this.

The Truth is that everything we own on earth is perishable and their value is just an illusion; they are nothing. And that is precisely what heaven asks. Nothing.

Hell on the other hand asks us to sacrifice the only things which have True value; Eternal value. Hell demands our Divine -soul- natures, our minds, our relationships.

"But invest for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupts, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Where's the sacrifice in that?

Masquerade of Fear

2008-08-10T12:21:00.009-04:00

Cindy Crawford the super model, after being complemented by a reporter on her stunning good looks, responded...

"Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford."

But cosmetics pale in comparison to the persona(alitie)s, the masks, we wear.

We were not born with these masks we wear; they are an invention of the spirit of fear and we believe fear when it tells us that we were created imperfect and that we therefore need to hide our true selves in order to be accepted and even loved.

When we are accepted or loved because of who we pretend to be, it is really our mask that is accepted or loved, not Us.

Masks and the demon of fear do not come from God, and they are incompatible with His eternal Life.

We are made in the image of God; we are not a product of our heritage, or environment, or even our social or religious programming. But our heritage, environment, and our social and religious programming often become our masquerade.

When we embrace these Truths, the people who belong in our Life will embrace and Love us and all others will commune elsewhere.

Be Aware

2008-08-10T00:12:00.001-04:00

God does not test us. God simply gives us opportunities to recognize His presence where we thought it was absent.

Welcome to Life {re}Defined

2008-08-07T11:02:00.002-04:00

This is a place where seeds of Truth are sown in the soil of our Divine natures and the weeds of social and religious unTruths are pulled up and burnt.

This is a place where only Love matters and is enough. Where fear is examined and revealed to be nothingness.

This is a place where everything you thought you know is held up to Right-eous scrutiny.

This is a place where Servants shepherd and leaders are deposed.

This is a place where Awareness is king and ignorance a pauper.

This is a place of liberating answers to hard questions.

This is not our forefather's comfort zone.

Say goodbye to every attachment.

Embrace Reality.

Embrace Life.