Last time, I gave you TWO AMAZING, UNUSUAL tips to curb sugar. Here are two more.
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Click HERE to continue reading.
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So other times, I briefly referenced when I went to another country and how I accidentally (I didn’t mean to!) humiliated some people in a poverty-stricken town by winning some arm wrestling matches against the regional men because I was stronger than I appeared.1
I should explain, and give MY point of view so you can empathize with me.
Or maybe I should ask God for forgiveness for being a cultural horror, but it’s easier to convince you to feel sorry for me so that I can feel justified. Let’s go with the latter option today because I don’t have much time, and getting to a place of feeling bad about stuff I did wrong takes some time and effort.
First of all, we need some context.
It all started many years earlier when I also won (Do you notice a theme here – of me being a WINNER?) a push-up contest against someone much stronger and fitter than me, my older brother.
The following is what happened:
My brother was the kind of guy who ate chips and hot dogs at every meal and was usually found on the couch, vegging out and watching TV. Then he moved out, and the next time I saw him -Wow! – He got fit!
The problem was that my self-esteem couldn’t easily handle this transition.
I have ALWAYS been the SUPER FIT one in the family (Proof HERE). “I MUST still be fitter than my couch potato brother!” I assumed.
“Yeah, you’re a little bit more fit than you were before you moved out,” I humbly admitted to my older brother. “But OF COURSE I’m STILL a LOT fitter than YOU!” My reality began to keel off-center when he challenged me to a push-up contest.
“HA!” I said with fake confidence, “OF COURSE!”
We settled on a tasty treat for a prize the OTHER sibling would pay for.
He bought me the prize because I WON (!) the push-up contest.
I want to end this Newsletter here, but my Editor (meanie) says I HAVE to finish this story for “Context” – whatever that means. So the next day, my brother shoveled sand and helped with other demanding physical labor around the house. (I couldn’t get out of bed for three days. My editor says I HAVE to put that part in there. But I don’t see how that statement is even relevant to the story!)
Anyway, how do we BECOME physically stronger than we ACTUALLY ARE? That’s easy! We fake it!
To soar through life, like I do, look down your nose at other people, and assume that you MUST BE better than them!
Then you’ll become a WINNER like me!
We may have to pay a bit in the next few days because we cannot get out of bed, but THINK OF THE GLORY that you will overshadow your brother and other rivals with!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Wait – The Point of this Newsletter doesn’t sit PERFECTLY with me today. Those who are more spiritually mature than I (and there AREN’T many of those!) mention something about sitting down and finding our TRUE identity as a child of God so that we are not hurting ourselves emotionally, physically or spiritually by trying to appear superior to who we are.
I keep forgetting stuff like that.
And once we really GET that stuff, then it’s okay EVEN to admit to being a loser! And the good news is that, thankfully, being a loser does not define us, either!
All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! . . .He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do . . .
And once we figure that stuff out, then we can tell the truth, EVEN about ourselves, and EVEN on the internet!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Photo Credit – I Feel This Strong Too! by Jakob Owens on Unsplash and Lorenzo Hamers on Unsplash
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1I can’t do everything right, ok?!
The question that keeps me up at night is:
How can God like me BEST, BETTER than other people?
My “Therapist” (What does SHE know?) says that these thoughts of comparison and drivenness are rooted in some sort of neurosis deep down, but I doubt that! Anyway, practically speaking, don’t we ALL want the teacher to like US best? Or the boss? Or even our friends?
Of course!
So, those are the types of questions that keep me up at night. And then God seemed to help me understand how to be his favorite! (I DO know that sentence is “Officially” a “Heresy” or whatever, but stay with me, because what God showed me is -Surprise! – theologically accurate, once you understand my point!)
Anyway, this is what happened.
It seemed God was highlighting the word “Beautiful” to a few of us.
How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!
There was something God wanted to reveal to us about this word.
As shown in this quote below, God isn’t quite as hung up about physical beauty as we are.
“Looks aren’t everything . . . God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.”
So He couldn’t be talking about that.
And in my prayer time, God seemed to show me a picture of two golden cups, one tarnished1, one polished.
Does one of these cups have less value? He seemed to ask my soul.
No! Of course not. Bought by a gold buyer, they would pay equally for both cups as they have EQUAL value.
So it is with my children, He seemed to whisper.
I think God was saying that ALL of his children have EQUAL VALUE in His eyes.
But some are a little more polished or beautiful.
I wondered how to polish oneself. I suddenly realized that a cup can’t polish itself! “How do we get polished a bit more?” I wondered
Let Me polish you, He seemed to whisper. As you draw near to me and seek me, I am polishing you.
And so I thought I would share what I learned here today with you so that maybe God will EVEN like you as much as He likes me!
Or maybe The Point is that:
If we knew how much God valued and loved us, we wouldn’t care how much He loved anyone else.
And I felt calmed, somehow, loved, and like I could finally take my unbearable list of “To-Do” items, the ones that I unconsciously think will help God to “like me” a bit more, and put it over there, far away, in the pile of stuff that God longs to burn. And I felt a bit more free. Maybe I don’t need to be better than others.
My therapist must be wrong!
(At least, I think that’s what she was getting at. See Paragraph One, above, but I am a bit confused whenever she speaks if I’m honest).
God LIKES me, as I already proved definitely HERE. And He LIKES you, too, and finds you more and more beautiful as you allow Him to purify your golden cup in the fire of His Presence. And there is our freedom.
If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, read this ancient story and let the metaphor sit inside your heart for a bit as you ponder, reflect and thank God for this truth.
(And God will be polishing your gold cup a bit more, even as you do this, friend.)
Photo Credit – Good News! by Jade Destiny on Unsplash
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1 (*I DO know that only silver tarnishes in real life, not gold, but this is a metaphor, remember? And I believe God considers each of His children to be of the highest value, of gold, so that’s why gold is in the picture. Can we return to the point now?)
Last time, I told you everything I know about Psychotherapy. Here are five steps to summarize the previous post on fighting overwhelm based on my experience with Psychotherapy. (With any luck, these steps will also help us to become a little less nuts – The point of this post).
1. We slow down.
2. We quiet ourselves.
3. We come as we are, bringing our scattered emotions and lifting our situations to God.
4. We wait.
5. We listen.
Click HERE to continue reading.
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!|
I was swimming that day when God seemed to whisper in my ear, touching a deeper place in my heart with the words that called me to correct the direction of my life by only a degree.
This is what happened.
I was mindlessly living my life, as we all do, being blown by the wind of the general opinions and attitudes of others, as the hidden currents of our culture pull us. (And by the way, if you think you are immune to the pushes and pulls of your current culture, that is the very air you breathe, then HAHAHAHAHAH! We laugh at you!) The only thing more ridiculous than being blown by the wind of the general opinions and attitudes of the culture you live in is NOT KNOWING you are being blown by the wind and of your culture!
THE POINT is that we are all shaped by the voices of others that enter our minds unobserved, and that God’s voice serves as a salve, as medicine, correcting our lives by a degree or two, if our ears are open to hearing Him convicting us.
This is what happened to me recently.
I had been swimming that day, as I do in that lake in the summer.
Usually, I see one fish, maybe two, as I swim along before I tire.
But that day I saw a school of fish, something rare in this lake. “Wow!” I thought. When I saw another school of fish, a large fish, and another large fish, and then two more huge schools of fish, I began to think, “This is VERY, VERY unusual.”
Literally hundreds more fish passed me that day, until I finally asked, “God, do you want to speak to me?” through this very unusual situation.
And He did speak. And His voice healed my heart. But that is for next time because my time is up again, and as mentioned HERE, your attention span is much too short (No! It’s NOT that I get distracted and forget what I’m even writing about – of COURSE NOT!)
God uses anything, everything, to grab our attention – poke and startle us a little- if our eyes, ears, and hearts are open to this possibility.
How is God trying to wake you lately, friend?
And so, the best way to course correct to avoid walking off the cliff by the invisible wind of culture? Clean out your ears to the voice of God, friend. He’s already speaking. We simply need to find our ears on the ground and reattach them to hear what He is saying—more on this next time.
Photo Credit – Will He Fall Off The Cliff Or Receive Help? by Felipe Souza on Unsplash
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! (Proven HERE, HERE and HERE!) Let’s journey together!
Photo Credit – Loser and Winner by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash – Notice that the “Winner” here has less money than the “Loser,” so it’s not about more money, but you already know that! For additional proof, however, consider this quote from one of the wisest people I know:
I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.
While training for a triathlon, I was pretty fit.
I swam to my friend’s home two bays down at the lake where we were staying as a regular training exercise.
Then I suddenly got a bit older, and I wasn’t QUITE as fit anymore, at least as I thought I was. “Could I swim to her home again?” I asked myself. A few quick years had passed, of sitting on the couch and eating donuts at every meal, but otherwise, I still felt pretty fit. That summer day, I swam and swam. I did it! Wow!
I sat on her wharf in my solo victory party, my pride rising around me like a great cloud, buoying up my low self-esteem until the cloud tried to suffocate me with the sudden unwelcome thought, “But CAN I swim back home?
No walking trails existed along the shore of these “boat access only” cottages, and of course, cell phone reception was an impossibility in that remote area, even if I did have a phone with me (I didn’t, of course).
My stomach quavered.
How would I get home?
And The Point of this Newsletter is that sometimes, as graciously illustrated HERE and HERE, we aren’t QUITE as amazing as we imagine ourselves to be.
What if that’s true spiritually, too?
Now, before you hold up your hands and caution me against speaking further, responding with the most common objection, like: “Well, at LEAST I’m not Ted Bundy or someone super bad like that! Therefore, I’m sure God will open the Great Golden gates to me!”
Again, I ask, what if being a bit “nicer” than a serial killer like Ted Bundy is STILL not an “A” on your spiritual report card according to Jesus?
(Just asking the question).
And so, how did I get home that day that I swam WAY too far and exhausted myself with my pride? A person I knew saved me. As I swam, when I saw someone I knew, I would crawl up their ladder onto their wharf to sit awhile, resting (and pretending to visit while I caught my breath), until I had enough strength to continue my journey.
And luckily for you, that’s how you can find the way to your true home, too – Just drag your tired butt out of wherever you are struggling just to get by, and rest awhile with Jesus.
He’ll give you some food for your journey, a blanket to warm your soul with increasingly authentic relationships, and a map to guide your unique life adventure to begin soaring like a bird in the sky with Him.
He energizes those who get tired . . . but those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar . . .
And the best part? God will swing open those Golden Gates to anyone who is friends with His son. What have you got to lose except a bit of suffocating pride that you don’t REALLY want anyway?
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
Previously, I talked about mourning with the group.
I also talked about coyotes, but let’s face it, we all know I just made that stuff up. You should never trust things you read on the internet, anyway! Except you should entirely and wholeheartedly trust everything in this newsletter – Of course!
Click HERE to continue reading.
Thank you for liking me! I like you, too! (Proven HERE and HERE!) Let’s grow together and learn to soar!
Once, when I was a child, I thought everyone was laughing WITH me until I suddenly realized they were laughing AT me!
Wait, that still happens to me, and it happened just last week!
(On reflection, I don’t know whether people were laughing AT or WITH me last week, but does that part REALLY matter, anyway?!)
Click here to continue reading this previously published post.
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Last time, I wrote here and here about why we should try to give a wide berth to the dark arts and the demonic or satanic.
This week, to confuse you, I will tell you that you SHOULD read the Harry Potter series. I didn’t say I would be consistent! Give me a break! Who has time for authenticity nowadays? We’re too busy scrolling social media to have time to figure out who we are! It’s easier to follow the crowd, anyway!
And since there are gross Halloween decorations in every major department store right now, let’s talk about why you might as well read Harry Potter, too, while you’re at it.
Ahem . . .
So, several years ago, I was huddled in a corner, trying to shut out the world with its scary stuff. Children held out their Halloween candy to me once and yelled, “Boo!” and I screamed, terrified. “We have to keep ourselves CLEAR of all of that stuff!” I yelled after them as they ran away, laughing.
Actually, that memory has exactly the same point as my recent posts, come to think of it! Stay CLEAR of demonic stuff!
So today, let’s run as far as we can in the opposite direction. What satanic stuff SHOULD we be holding onto and perhaps even incorporating INTO our lives?
Ha!
I bet you don’t hear that question every day! You’re welcome! Good luck!
Now let’s get started as we dig a bit deeper to unearth some insights so that we can travel on our spiritual paths free of BOTH:
We’re talking about Point #2 today, so that’s why we’re discussing which demonic stuff we want to incorporate into our lives.
Let’s start with Harry Potter. The books crawl with spider webs and warlocks, abuse of power, and fear-filled followers of evil (I.e., scary Death Eaters).
Surely, this stuff is a NO-GO! We must confidently assert.
Not so fast.
The Harry Potter series helped me to more deeply emotionally resonate with the choice Jesus Christ made to hang on a cross so we could be free.
What now? You’re wondering.
Yup. Here. Hold my popcorn because I need my hands to explain (I’m Italian).
Harry Potter discovered a prophecy that said he needed to die so that his world could be free of evil (I.e., the guy Voldemort). Harry’s struggle with what this sacrifice would cost him personally and what it would mean for everyone else’s freedom in his world was a palpable decision he struggled with that made my hands sweat, quite literally. The point is, the fact of Jesus CHOOSING to undergo such intense pain SO THAT I could be set free came home in a new way to me as I stayed up into the wee hours of the night with a flashlight trying to figure out how the story ends.
The Harry Potter series ends with freedom for everyone in his world because he CHOOSES to sacrifice his one life for them.
Exactly like in our world.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
. . . God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
Can I have my popcorn back? I want to see how this movie ends.
Our movie here on earth, that is, with OUR actors, us.
Great literature must treat evil, sometimes in a base and repulsive form . . . as do the Christian Scriptures.
Three Faces of Evil: Christian Writers and the Portrayal of Moral Evil by Susan Wise Bauer in The Christian Imagination
Footnotes
*Wait – Isn’t that the goal of our spiritual lives? Dang! Now I’m confused again!
So, I’ve been reading about becoming a successful and influential online figure that others look up to and admire.
Did I mention that yet?
Yesterday, I learned that we need to establish AUTHORITY that we KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON before we boss others around. “So THAT’S what I have been doing wrong!” I realized, slapping my head with this newfound wisdom. So today, I will ASSERT my AUTHORITY and EXPERTISE in the following sentence before I advise you:
I WAS VOTED ONE OF THE BEST DRESSED PEOPLE (!!) IN MY SMALL RED-NECKED HIGH SCHOOL SEVERAL DECADES AGO!!
And so, because of this obvious flair for fashion, you can now wholly trust me as I tell you about the cultural fashion trends I am currently observing!
As I sat in the new Mexican taco place last week, I was scratching my head and puzzling over the décor.
Why was this place decorated with skeletons and skulls?
The previous month, in another restaurant, when the 20-year-old kind waitress turned, her forearm flashed a skull tattoo. She didn’t look or sound like a terrifying “Hell’s Angel” motorbike member, cussing and starting fights. Or whatever scary biker guys do – I don’t happen to have any good friends who are active Hell’s Angels members, come to think of it!
Actually, there is one scary-looking biker guy who attends our church, but his heart is so kind and full of a desire to love like Jesus that I forgot he’s frightening.
Anyway, this young waitress had a kind smile and a genuine desire to see us be well served.
She just happened also to like skull tattoos. “Why did she like a skull tattoo so much that she wanted it engraved into her arm, never to come off?” I wondered, scratching my head, trying to figure out this new fad.
Now, as proven here I am a very cool person, and with only a BIT of imagination, I am even CLOSE to attainting the title of “Cool Surfer Dude!” At least, this is the case in my imagination. (Now – What is my editor yelling at me again for anyway? – And something about “Authenticity”? She’s a bother!)
We can all define ourselves the way we want, and I am definitely cool.
Anyway, since I am, as proven above, so VERY cool, you’ll want to sit down and listen to me when I talk about tattoo fashion trends and current decoration styles in the public space.
The only problem is, with this ONE vogue trend of demonic fashion decor, I have absolutely NO idea what is going on. (I’m SURE there are NO other cultural fashion trends for which I am confused – Rest assured!)
The point of this post?
We’ve tossed the church as the source of a beautiful gate leading to God’s heart. The gate has cobwebs, and the path beyond it seems dark and foreboding. We have added stuff to Christ’s message so that The Way isn’t as brightly lit, especially in contrast to other paths that flash their bright neon lights and claim The Way to God. And so, people are gently turned away from the beautiful gate by the cultural forces of progress. “Travel here,” the dark shapes seduce us.
“Life comes from death”, they whisper, stroking our heads to keep us calm, like a parent to a small child.
It is true that life comes from death.
Unless a grain of wheat is . . . dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.
Jesus Christ, the guy 1/3 of the world claims to follow
We sense hints of the divine in the symbol of the life of a flower emerging from the skull of symbolic death, so we blindly walk in that direction.
And so, we allow ourselves to be steered down a path of partial truth, which has always been the path to the most destructive of lies.
There is a profound truth within this metaphor, but blindly embracing all demonic symbolism is a path leading in the wrong direction.
Wake up, friends!
Let the bathwater of unhealthy Christian culture wake you as we toss it in a panic. Ah! Let’s throw out everything that doesn’t reflect the love Jesus showed us as He washed His friends’ feet and hung on a cross! Let’s toss the dirty bathwater of some parts of Christian culture! And may many wake up by this water splashed in their faces as we toss it, friends.
But let’s keep the baby.
A virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (. . .for “God is with us”)
Let’s polish that beautiful gate and allow Christ to transform our hearts so they are bright enough, full enough of selfless love that our hearts on fire light the way for others to see the path to God, too.
But let’s stop turning to demons, friends, to show us the path to God.
Let’s worship God instead!
The reasons why we may want to worship a beautiful God who wants to set us free in joy instead of foul demons that will eventually devour us will be discussed in the next couple of posts!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
