Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut! Sometimes You Don’t!

As I sat for my morning meditation,, quiet time or prayer time with God, whichever  you want to call it; I had an overwhelming urge to just not do it. I just didn’t want to. I wanted to do something else: read a novel, bury my head in marketing, bury my already dead self in the soft warm feathers of the Twitter bluebird.

I hadn’t the least shred of desire to read my bible or pray, but I did anyway. It’s been a life long routine for my new life these past twenty-five years.

I wasn’t mad at God or even the least bit irritated, but my desire had flown the coop. I know your thinking, Well doesn’t everyone have these wanes of desire?

Well, Yes, but I didn’t even want it back, and wanted to go do something else.

But, I read anyway (My bible, not Twitter):

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Jeremiah 32:26-27

It was that one word, THEN, that got stuck in my teeth. Has that ever happened to you? 

Have you ever just not wanted to hear from God? But He wanted you to hear from him.

THEN what? Wow! God can sure pack a punch with even such an insignificant adverb as THEN.

Lot’s of questions came to mind, not my question but God’s. I’m not a kook, take my word for it... but I do believe in God speaking to us through the bible, prayer, preachers, validated prophets and even books and blogs that have nothing to do with Him. God can and probably does speak audibly to some people, not certain special people, just some people. He’s not a big blabbermouth like me, but from all reports he doesn’t use many words when He does speak.

I continued to read Jeremiah,

Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. --Jeremiah 32:28 NKJV

OK, now I’m starting to shake in my boots, and thought to myself, I sure hope those succeeding verses are not as true today as they were then.

That’s when I felt like God spoke to me.

“I don’t do things that way any longer.”

 I could lean back with my black coffee and go, “Whoa dude!” or I could fall on my face and build a shrine. I took another sip of reheated, twice, coffee, thankful that most likely my life wasn’t going to crash and burn before my coffee got cold.

As with many times when I felt God speaking, His words contained way more than the factual meanings those eight words conveyed.

Somehow I felt absolved of my crime of what I now realized was the simple ebbs and wanes of our faith and relationships. All our interrelationships are that way. Why would we expect our communications with God to be any different?

Sometimes we feel like a nut. Sometimes we don't. 

We run hot and cold. Bottom line often is we simply get bored.

If I step back and consider the immensity of this faith we are in, not the religious trappings we surround ourselves with, but the realness of relationship with the Master of the universe, it will or can stun me back into a new freshness of today.

Sometimes.

Today though, I still felt kind of complacent so I took a sip of cold coffee and wrote this blog.

I hope your days are filled with much peace and truckloads of grace,

M

Open Soul Policy

We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God's creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God's servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands.

-Oswald Chambers from My Utmost for the Highest September 21st Devotional

Beyond this striking me at my root, my soul and heart: I generally believe myself to be open. Open-minded to other people and their ideas, I am always willing to listen even to things that conflict with my own beliefs; those I will not give up though, not without a soul-wrenching battle for the truth.

I want to believe my soul is open to the fact of God's creative purpose, as quoted above. Yet, upon self examination I am not as open as I think. Without a doubt, I believe it to be true, but I must confess my own intentions are often inter-mingled and stirred in with the truth. Just as Oswald said, God has forced my own intentions aside and often it has been bloody and painful.

Keeping Simple Faith Simple

"Keep Simple Faith Simple," and the cry in response--a resounding all in agreement--Yeah right! At least that's what you thought while your mouth shouted, "Amen!" in response to the preacher.

Yeah, me too. A lot of the things I write on this blog are the things we're all already thinking but never tell anyone. You know, those things we tuck away in our psyche's dusty basement. We all know they're there, and prefer it stay that way. 

We think about them nearly every day and swear to ourselves we're really going to get down there and at least dust things off, but we're just so darn busy keeping up our facades of respectfulness--it's just so damn tiring. If we all knew that we all know, (and it's not just me) we could have the world's largest party and bonfire. 

How do I know it's true? I can see all your heads bobbing up and down as you read.

Jesus said to keep it simple-

Mark this:Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Mark 10:15 (Message)

I'm sure the people there to hear Jesus speak those words shouted Amen too.

So what's a guy/girl to do? I have no answer short of try. So how do I try?

We have to let God do as much of the assembly and ordering of our lives as possible.

It's a matter of shoving that crazy pile of life's Legos over to Him and saying, "I hope you can do something with that. I haven't been able to make much sense of all those parts YOU GAVE ME, and You could have at least sent a picture along of what it should look like when it's done."

And then He'll nod, grin and say, "I was wondering when you'd finally let me play."

I could of made this post(but I didn't) all about how complicated we make faith, with a billion churches, and more websites; all telling us what it should look like and how messed up the world will be until we can figure out how to put that complicated mess together. If we will 'simply' order their CD DVD Book or Podcast sermon series, all will be right with our world. That's all I'll say on that.

But then there's our own head/heart to contend with; it pulls us a hundred different directions trying to get that ONE PIECE that will finally fit correctly. If we would cut it all back and downsize, yes I said DOWNSIZE our faith to the mustard seed Jesus talked about, then we just might feel that fresh wind of joy that a child knows.

There's no drug or possession quite like little-kid-happy. They trust perfectly what Mommy or Daddy says, at least until their early teens. If we have a hard time squeezing into those little clothes and shoes, let's drench ourselves in the truths of God's word and the simplicity that is not really hidden.

Acts 2:46 (NKJV)

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

A saying I first heard in Alcoholics Anonymous many years ago still rings in my head:

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid, which I am until I learn to let the Driver drive.

Wrestling for Control

I first heard the saying, “Let go and let God,” in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

That saying strikes a chord within each of us because of a trait/problem universal to each of our lives, and not just alcoholics. As human beings we have the hardest time letting God be who He is and do what he wants.

Given half a chance to think about it, our heads surely must bob up and down in agreement, like a parrot performing for a treat. 

Moses stood at the head of 1.5 million people he was leading out of slavery; he came to an impassable river with an enemy army in hot pursuit and God told him to stand still and see what God would do. Yeah right was probably Moses first thought.

Would we all agree that the lot of our predicaments, troubles and issues lie partially or at most wholly rooted in our struggle with God for dominance and control. Believe Him or not. We need to let go and let God, or let God be God.

Regardless of what we choose to believe, God is God, for how could we finite(though eternal) beings influence who or what He is? There are a million, no make that near limitless different forms that humans choose to make of God or god and each of us believe that our way is THE WAY to see God and everyone else is mistaken. Ludicrous. No matter who you are.

Who is it that gets the final say on who God is? God. 

So how can we mere mortals put the brakes on our fight for supremacy? God knows, he has been unable to stop us.

It comes down to choice.

We can choose to refuse bitterness when life turns south on us.

We can choose NOT to reject those that refuse to play to the role we have mentally or emotional cast them in. Three cheers here for husbands, wives and parents. The bible calls husbands to love their wives, wives to honor their husbands and all of us to honor our parents good or bad.

By trying to force our spouse, parent or friend to conform to our ideal—or else—puts us in the role of a god or at least telling God his business. Whether you believe the bible or not doesn’t change who God is one wit.

Has life dealt you a bitter hand? Would you sour it even further by raging against the God who made you.

Let’s give God the same freedom we desire for ourselves and allow him to function as the Supreme Being that he is. You and I both know life would taste sweeter and the load grow lighter if we did.

Peace.

The Closer You Get...

I was driving through a 'mountain' range north into the Central Valley of California when my wife commented on the beauty of the distant mountains. Now, I included MOUNTAIN in quotes because I wanted no one to get the idea that these were the heavily forested snow-capped peaks that would automatically be brought to mind. After all, this is Southern California coastal sage and scrub, the technical term for 'little bushes and rocks'.

But, it did look pretty from a distance. It appeared green as a golf course and blankety smooth, if you looked farther than several hundred yards from the roadway that is. Any closer and all you would see is the little bushes and rocks.

I commented to her, in my often dystopian view, that if you climbed to the top it would all look the same as the sparse dry edge of the highway. Of course, as is my way I commented further. I expressed my opinion that most things in life are this way.

Look at the produce in the grocery store, from two aisles over and what you would see is bright colors, plump and shiny pieces of fruit and your mouth would begin to water. But, roll your cart over to get some and then you see every bruise on the over-ripe bananas, the wilted greens and rotten apples.

To now draw some judgements about peoples looks, just for the sake of this article of course, we've all had the following experience whether you're a boy or a girl- You're out walking, driving or riding a bike and from a distance you see a very attractive person, but as you get closer you realize that is not the case at all and far from it. Your mind got very very creative with the minimal information at its disposal.

On people you meet and eventually become acquainted with, at first you think to yourself, "Now here's a real together person." Roll forward a few days, months or years, and you will have wished you fled in terror or are now comforted that they are just about as messed up as yourself (of course I'm speaking of MYself).

Le's drill down deep now and look inward at the events that have made up our lives. Often when we look back it can look very beautiful or so bleak you want to end it all now. But while you were in it, it didn't look as beautiful or bleak as you remember. 

That vacation from hell you took with the kids, while it was happening you were looking for a steep and craggy cliff from which to toss them from. Roll forward some years and you all sit around laughing about it as if it was better than Disneyland. (This really happened for me)

So, you say, "How in God's name is this supposed to help me? Did I just waste 10 minutes of my time reading 500 words when I could have found out how the Kardashian family is doing in a lot less?"

Hold on for just a few more words.

If we would arm ourselves with this knowledge in advance, we could free ourselves from much grief and disappointment. We would be free to pursue relationships with much less than perfect people. The huge expectations we put on family could be minimized and make for much more harmonious holidays.

There are at least 101 more applications to make a more pleasant life for ourselves and others.

Just sayin'.

Universal Aggression

The title isn't meant to suggest that all things are aggressive or actively engaged in hostile acts against you. Albeit, somedays it sure can seem like they are. And, after that attempt at humor, which I thought funny in an ironic sort of way, I'm going to make for the long pass and go deep, perhaps even off the deep end.

On a notion of the universe conspiring against us, I may not be far from the truth. No matter how troubled, how calm, how perfect or dysfunctional our lives may be, each of us have had at least one moment that lashed out at us with its terrible biting teeth. You're thinking of it even now as I type.

Lucky few of us made it into our teen years without at least one event striking deep at our soul. Even if we were not old enough to understand at the time, we knew it hurt, and lucky we were if we didn't know how much so at the time.

This shattered and broken universe's agenda is to take you out and down never to rise again. The Maker of the universe, as it would have been without our meddling, He allowed for such pain, even counted it into His design, not the pain, but the healing. 

No matter how tempted I may be, I am not about to embark on a big religious treatise to define what that all means. I don't have to; if you're alive, you most likely have enough experience to either nod in agreement or stop reading and delete me from all social connections...

BUT, I believe it is the Maker's wish that, in some way, through our pain, rejection and heart-wrenching sorrow we would be made into what we were designed to become.

Go-along with the process and it works, sometimes quickly, but more often maddeningly slow.

Fight against it, and life gets all twisted into ever more complicated and painful knots.

Ultimately, the battle is ours to fight, and the choice of outcome is ours. He will not leave us alone and twisting in the wind.

Peace,

Mike

No More Mister Nice Guy

Well, here we go.

I just finished the last major edit of my first novel, No More Mister Nice Guy. It's now sitting in the cooler waiting for the dough to rise before I take it out for one more read and give the manuscript to someone else to read and edit. It sits at 72,000 words which is sure to change once stupid stuff is removed.

The plan is to release September 11 as an Ebook on Amazon B&N Kobo etc.

(My disclaimer to the low quality graphic. The image is something I threw together on my phone, can you believe the technology available. I used two apps After photo and Over.)

I believe  with all my heart that God  wanted me to pen this story, and when my doubts arose, He would remind me in some rather profound ways including, but not limited to:

Predicting my cancer and healing. The story had already been written but was not fleshed out and polished until now. In 2011 I was diagnosed and spent the next year in treatment and healing from treatment.

His voice speaking and confirming  this as a mission in conference settings and more.

My prayer, armed with the knowledge of the  gift God gave me, has been to write at least 5 books before I 'Go Home.' That prayer is based on,

Psalms 37:3-5 (NKJV)

Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

 Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

 Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

I can be very wordy, so as I chomp at the bit wanting to add to what I've already said, I'll sign off.

Peace and Grace to you,

Mike