The Best Gift

Can you remember when you got the best gift ever? Do you remember how you felt when that happened? I remember, as a young boy, hoping for a special toy. When I received that toy, I was so excited and I felt so loved. It was something that I hoped I would receive for a long time. It was exciting. The best gift is the one that makes you feel forever grateful.

A Gift From Your Parents:

Maybe your parent taught you great values that you are using everyday to make it through this challenging world. Maybe it was that toy or stuffed animal that you fondly remember. Maybe it was that love and support that was always there. Maybe it was that voice that guides you when you remember their words. Were any of these your best gift?


A Gift From Your Family:

Maybe it was t hat gift your brother or sister gave you when you were sick. Maybe it was that kind grandparent or uncle who always had something special for you. Maybe it was just a hug from your cousin when you needed it most. Maybe it's your wonderful children and grandchildren. Maybe it's your crazy pets. Were any of these your best gift?


A Gift From Your Love:

Maybe it was that smile your significant other gives you when they meet you at the airport that shows they really love you. Maybe it is the keepsake piece of jewelry that you stare at in moments of pause. Maybe it's that special closeness that you get when you watch a performance together. Maybe it's that special snuggle on a cold evening. Were any of these your best gift?


A Gift From Your Friends:

Maybe it was that special surprise party thrown in your honor. Maybe it was that encouraging text during times of trouble. Maybe it was that special call when you poured your heart out over a challenge or a hurt. Maybe it was when your friend stuck up for you. Were any of these your best gift?


A Gift From God: 

Maybe it's watching creation that demonstrates the glory of God. Maybe it's the fact that God gave you life along with your patient mother. Maybe it's the gifts that God gave you that you have the honor of sharing with others. Maybe it's that God allows you to flourish and be sustained through life. Were any of these your best gift?

The Best Gift:

While I can identify with many of these great gifts and I  appreciate them all. My best gift is that God loves me no matter what. I am accepted under grace and mercy despite all my failings. I will be eternally grateful for God's love and forgiveness. I hope never to go to sleep without remembering what God has done, is doing and will do in my life. What's your best gift?

The Big "If Only"

Have you or others said "if only I had" or "if only I was"? Life can be filled with "if onlys"  It seems like we are always looking for that next goal. There are a myriad of categories of "if onlys" that seem to tug at our imaginations and hearts. Let's look at a few.

If Only I Was Smart and Educated:

There are many in the quest for knowledge and education so that they could either show others or progress in a better way in today's world. While this is a good thing to want, it's a never ending journey with constant thirst for more. Many people get stuck in a cycle for more knowledge and credentials.

If Only I Was Great Looking:

There are even more folks that desire to be attractive. This is what drives a significant amount of marketing and advertising. There are whole industries that are driven by our wanting to be desirable. While this a a good thing if handled with some reason. The fact is we will all age and look worse over time makes this a bit futile.

If Only I Had Enough Money:

We all want to be debt free at some point and have enough money to buy the desires of our heart. While more riches many help, it also is a drug that addicts. If you have ever watched the very rich, they always want more and contentment is elusive. The love of money is the root of all evil.

If Only I Had a Life Partner:

Everyone want to be loved. Sometimes it's hard to admit, but we need others. If it is a close loved one or a circle of good friends, we want and need close interaction. Some hop from person to person seeking that perfect match, but many prefer to settle in on a deep and stable partnership.

If Only I Had Health and Energy:

We all wish to be well at a minimum level to function without pain and sorrow.  Many seek to have that perfectly cut body, but most of us want to enjoy ourselves and stay in a good body tone zone. We want to feel good about ourselves and our ability to enjoy our physical world greatly. If might be great journeys (a nice walk for me now) or great adventures (free climbing in my younger years) enjoying our bodies to the fullest. We don't want our bodies to betray us, but eventually bodies die.

THE BIG IF ONLY:

The most important, in my mind is to know what happens when we are done on this earth?  Will God approve of my life. I have chosen the free Grace that God gives to forgive the fact that I am not perfect nor will I ever be perfect. God loves me no matter what I say or do. I have put my faith in His grace and mercy to help me have a time for eternity with Him when my body finally gives out. I wouldn't want to say "If only I would have trusted God for his grace and mercy?"

We all like free and God gives this mercy to all of us for free. We certainly like free especially if it is from God. He gave us our lives and gifts, now he offers eternity with him. It won't be boring. Only If we all had eternity with God. That's my big "If Only"

Sleep Walking Our Lives Away

Today's society has us so hypnotized we often miss the importance of the basics in life. While we all would say our family, friends and relationships are most important, but really act as if they are important. We would all say we enjoy the peace of  nature when we go on holidays, but do we still pursue the beauty of the world as a priority? What has us so distracted that our top priorities suffer quite a bit?

Hypnotized by Our Pace:

We are under such pressure at work and home it's really hard to keep up. The bosses always want more. Your family and friends always want more. Sometimes it seems we are on a treadmill that we can't get off of at any time soon. Maybe this explains the need to temporarily escape from the pain of the pace. We are Obsessive Compulsive to a Disease level (OCD) about getting the most out of every role of our lives.

Hypnotized by Our Phones:

We are always looking at our electronic devices, especially our phones, to keep up with our social links, our work emails, the next destination we are traveling to at the moment. People can't walk without collisions because of phones much less driving in cars. We are expected to be available in real time at all times. We are OCD about missing anything aka Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

Hypnotized by Riches:

We all want the best we can get as we think we only go around once in life. Men want the most expensive toys and homes to prove their prowess. Women want the best wardrobe and eternal bodies to show their attractiveness. Both are trying scratch and crawl over each other to have riches to trust for the rest of their lives. We are OCD about our money

Hypnotized by the News:

We all know CNN was created by Ted Turner, who couldn't get enough news, much less real time news. We have to know the latest to be able to protect our investments and appear to be "up" on the latest. We are being trained to be OCD on the news.

Hypnotized by Reality Drama:

Many are so captured by watching others live through conditions and events that would rattle the best of us. We want to live out the lives of rich people without being rich. We want to live out the lives of pioneers in  the remote part of the world without being there ourselves. We want to pan for gold and cheer on vindictive women as they kick and punch each other. We are OCD on drama.

Hypnotized by Carnal Beauty:

Many are captivated by big butts and lusty men or women. Our children are sexting in the dark because they are possessed with knowing all that is carnal. Porn of all imaginable kinds are pushed our way, hidden under ads. We see a rise in sexual preditors in every corner of our lives. We are OCD about lust.

Hypnotized by Self Image:

Many want to appear better than we really are, so we work at our digital personas like they are super important. This goes beyond watching what we say online to avoid a bad reputation, but to projecting an image that is desirable to others. We are OCD about our public image.


What are we missing?

We are sleepwalking following these false goals and we really don't attain many of them. What our lives really are missing is God. We need to open our minds and hearts to who God is and what he has done for us with his mercy and forgiveness. The hope of God and his provision for us destroys the despair of unattainable goals and even takes the sting out of death with a promise of spending the rest of time with Him.

Bottom Line:

Seeking God in everything is the real important thing to do. We can see God in nature and children. We can see God in others and the inventions of man. God had given us so much, including the understanding of science to make our lives better. It's time to wake up from our sleep walking.

For Those Who Celebrate Easter or Passover

Peace be to all. If you don't celebrate Good Friday and Easter, please pass by this one. For those who do, Easter is the celebration of our freedom and peace. Happy Easter !!!!  I created a new painting last year based on my past visits to Israel to see Golgotha and the Garden Tomb. I hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed painting it. I have also included other past years paintings celebrating the wonderful Gospel and our forgiveness. For my Jewish friends, I wish you a happy Passover and have completed a painting for you as well. 

                                                              Risen

 
                                                           Star of David 

                                                          Mercy Mountain      

                                             

                                                               Flying Cross

Are You a Coffee Bean?

This is a cute story I head the other day from my buddy Dan Lind. This young man said to his mother that he was having a bad day and that all the students in college were poking fun at him. She asked for him to elaborate while she pulled out a pot, from the cabinet, and filled it with water and dumped some carrots in it and turned on the burner to boil the water and carrots.

Then the young adult told his mom that he was having trouble with his studies and was ready to give up school for good. She asked him to tell her about it while she pulled out another pot and filled it with water and eggs. Again she turned on the burner to bring the eggs to a boil.

After this the young man said he was having problems with his girl friend and all he did was upset her. Again the mom started asking follow up questions while she pulled another pot out of the cabinet. She filled this one with coffee beans and proceeded to bring this one to a boil as well

The young man was a bit confused and looked at his mom and asked "so what do you think?" The mom proceeded to pour out the stained carrots in a bowl and asked her son. "How are the carrots?" He said they were soft and mushy. Then immediately after she pulled out the eggs and gave him one to eat. "How is the egg?" she asked. He said it was tough and hard. Then she proceeded to pour the strained liquid in a cup and said "taste this". He said "this is great".

The Mom then said "Life puts you under pressure like the boiling water does all these ingredients. They are like people. The weak people turn out mushy and the bitter people turn out hard boiled. But the coffee beans change the water into something better. Son, you need to be like a coffee bean flavoring life with the best with a splendid aroma."

Bottom Line:

We all come under pressure. I pray that my life would be like a coffee bean where my influence is in good taste and my spirit picks up other peoples senses and energy levels. By the grace of God I would like to be like the wonderful coffee bean. Are you a coffee bean or want to be one?

Confidence Amongst Turmoil

Looking at today's world and you can see that the seeds of change are sprouting. We see geopolitical upheaval. We hear threats and rumors of wars. We are seeing things that are unprecedented. Is this because of the technical revolution that is impacting everything? Is it because we are approaching the limits of how many people our plundered planet can support? Is it because there is a power grab to be in the best position as resources deplete? It might be a bit of each, but the real question is

                                "What do you put your confidence in today?" 

Your Own Dreams & Efforts:

There are many self esteem coaches that say you need better self esteem and better dreams and all your problems will melt away. Getting to maximum physical shape is also a major thrust today (I'm still looking for my six pack). Others say keeping your mind sharp to last into your later years is fantastic way to go forward. This helps, but

Your Family & Friends:

We have families that love us for the most part and friends that accept us unconditionally. I suspect when the "chips are down" and things get tough, there will be fewer friends and part of that family support system will fade. Family and friends help, but

The Younger Generations:

Youthful energy and fresh ideas always get accepted into society and help all generations alive and to come. The question is will this be enough and youth may lack experience. Youth helps, but

The System & Institutions:

We look to our governments and businesses to take care of us. It seems with everyone fighting for the few funds that are there, we the people get lost in the shuffle. Look at how companies used to be loyal and took care of their people. Now longer. Government institutions can help, but

Technology & Science:

There are new medical and technical breakthroughs happening daily. These are encouraging and they will continue us to help cope and extend life expectancies. Technology will help extend the power and reach of man, This is all good, but

Bottom Line:

These issues we face are bigger than all of these combined and the momentum of change and potentially bad outcomes will accelerate. I would suggest you put your confidence in God first because He loves you unconditionally. All these other things help, but are insufficient over the long haul. We are eternal beings, but life on earth is temporal. We all need to get to know this God who loves us. Keep seeking brothers and sisters with a humble spirit and God will meet you where you are with the grace He can only provide through Christ Jesus.

There Has to be a Better Way

We live in a fast paced world today and if you don't keep up you feel like you will be buried. If you don't keep up with the work pace, someone will replace you. If you don't keep up with your relationships. you will be left out of the action. If you don't plan for the future now, you will be destitute later in life. If you don't eat well or exercise, you will pay for it later in life. If we aren't proactive,  our competitors will outflank us. This sounds so stressful, one is likely to have health problems just thinking about it. Is there a better way?

A Better Way by Showing Mercy, Kindness & Forgiveness:

It is so easy to get ruffled by the rudeness of the world today. People cut you off driving and act like you are in their way. People all rush to get off the airplane to be first. Folks are rude to people in service jobs. If you just sit and observe modern behavior, it's gotten plain ugly at times. Practicing some kindness proactively and forgiveness in reaction mode would go along way to improving our little worlds. Yes there will always be rude people, but if we all take steps to show some kindness, the world would be better. We don't have to look for it in our leaders, we just need to practice it. 

A Better Way by Showing Thankfulness:

If you are thankful every day for something, you have to be in a better state of mind. There is always somebody who has it worse than you do. Concentrate on being thankful for a few things every day. Even if you have to put them in you "to do" lists or on your calendar, you should be thankful for something. This really works when you encounter those rude folks as well. You can be thankful that you have seen a bad example and that you were spared from responding badly.

A Better Way by Stopping to Enjoy and Meditate:

We need those moments of silence and peace. It is hard to find them, but when you are bored and in a safe place exercise a prayer, a meditation or an appreciation of a special memory. It may be in a quiet time when you are trying to sleep, Maybe it's when your plugged into great music when you can think of peaceful moments. Maybe it's at Yoga or when you are doing boring exercise, mental refreshment is essential to practice. 

Bottom Line: 

There are better ways to live and enjoy life. It's important to practice and enjoy mercy as we all make mistakes of omission. It's important to be thankful and accept your life as good in at least some small way. Get away from the buzz and stimulation to get in touch with nature or your God, who wants a encounter with you. There is a better way besides blasting people on social media or getting upset with some news story that stokes your emotions. 

Rogue One: Is Destruction Imminent?

There are several threads of the destruction theme through out all of the Star Wars movies. Rogue One is no different. There is the every day threat of being captured because of being a rebel. There is the "big threat" of the Death Star. This is a strong parallel to our lives today. There are the daily threats of survival all around us and this drives both a conscious and unconscious threat in our minds. There is the threat of feeding and housing ourselves at a base level and a threat of poor health that accelerates as we age leading to death.

In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

The Threat of Not Thriving Well:

Every day we work to keep food in our tummies and some kind of shelter over our head. We may be in a bad job with the pressure of performance or "see the door".  Even if our job or role as a student is going well, things can upset the balance and worry can consume our minds. These daily pressures can cause some to crack, even if its a temporary moment of rage when someone cuts us off while we are driving. We face daily threats of succumbing to life itself.


The Threat of Not Being Understood and Accepted:

We all try hard to be accepted by family, friends, associates and sometimes strangers we meet. While it generally is not imminent destruction, a constant felling of rejection can whittle away at our self worth and encourage us to self destruct. We think everyone else is doing well and being accepted and it is just us. We face daily threats of succumbing to life itself.

The Threat of War and Death:

Today there are wars and rumors of wars that make us uneasy. All of this is in our face at the same time we know that our health will eventually decline leading to death.  Enough on this depressing thought.

Bottom Line:

Destruction seems imminent to us all at some point in time. Are you like me that just ignores it an carries on? Are you like others I know that get gripped by the fact that destruction is in our future like the rebels in Rogue One. In Rouge One, the power of community and with a crafty plan executed by the brave souls wins out. Is destruction our fate too or is there a peace that passes all understanding in the face of destruction?  Our answer is God providing a way out through his son Jesus Christs death and atonement for us. All we need to do is let go of our pride and humbly accept Gods solution to our ultimate destruction.

Other Rogue One Articles: Click on Links

Extraordinary People
Fear vs Faith

Rogue One: Extraordinary People

In Rogue One the rebels come together to destroy the death star. Their strength was in their togetherness and their belief in "the Force"  We all face our own personal "death Stars" in our daily challenges and our life journey which ultimately ends. While most of us depend on others and depend on community, the challenges we face are ours. While we are all truly extraordinary in our own unique ways, we were made to bond with others and our Maker to face life challenges. See the previous Rogue One article here.

In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

Extraordinary You:

We are all wonderfully made, even with all of flaws and imperfections. If you just contemplate how intricate and complex your body is, working normally or not. It is amazing. Your mind is also brilliant and capable of both great good and otherwise. Your heart can be filled with amazing emotion and feelings. Now combine body, soul and spirit together to create the extraordinary you. What a creation!

Extraordinary Community:

Combine many wonderful people, each with special gifts, and now you have tremendous ability to do good. Imagine if each is guided by a common goal, the things that could be accomplished are truly great. The community provides acceptance, socialization and the combination of talents and abilities that can do extraordinary things.

Extraordinary God:

We all have a Maker that made us extraordinary with gifts and challenges. He has imparted to us not only our existence, but a love that doesn't care if we mess up. That love is eternal and enduring and helps us cope in situations we could do on our own or with the help from a community. All we need to do is humble ourselves to accept and believe it.

Bottom Line:

Like the Rogue One characters we can accomplish extraordinary things with the gifts our Maker gave us, the talents we honed and the group of people we ran into over time.  We are extraordinary. All you have to do is believe in that fact. You are accepted.

Rogue One: Fear Vs Faith

The excitement of the release of Rogue One has us in great anticipation. The story line of Rogue One seems to parallel our times in significant ways. This is the first in a series of four posts that will pick some key themes in Rogue One and discuss openly the threads entice us. We hope you will enjoy the movie and the discussions :)

In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

We live in days of great uncertainty and conflict. You can see it world wide as we all grapple with a growing population, competition for remaining resources and the economic extremes that exist. It seems we are living in a time of rumors of wars and conflict. It is pretty similar to the pressures we see on the rebels in Rogue One as the ultimate oppressor is preparing a weapon of awe in the Death Star. There are two ways to respond to these pressures. One is fear and the other is hope. We see the rebels ultimately opt for hope. We should do the same, but what do we put our hope into these days?

Fear:

Natural human tendencies are to let fear grip us and cause reactions that don't really work. We can run away and get as far away from the threat, but that hardly works. We can boldly lash out in the face of an overwhelming dark side of  "The Force:" and pay the consequences. We could make sure that others succumb first buying us time. we don't think this really works for the long term. Our suggestion is hope that the rebels chose.

Hope:

Hope is only as good as what the hope is placed into for resolution.  You can place hope in your family and friends. You can place your hope in community. You can place your hope in your investment portfolio. You can place your hope in your own efforts. The rebels put their hope in working together guided by the good side of  "The Force".

Bottom Line:

What or whom you put your hope into is a big bet for your life. It's a matter of life and death as it is in the movie. Where does your hope lie? Our lies in the proven and great God who sent his son "Jesus Christ". We are excited about celebrating Rogue One, but we are even more excited about celebrating Christmas as the birthday of the One we our hope in today and for eternity.

What Does Real Acceptance Mean to Us?

This is a place we have created to feel safe and accepted. We may not be accepted in todays’ society per say due to our out of the ordinary viewpoints on life and how we live it, but it is in this space we are accepted. According to Dictionary.com acceptance is defined as:

                       The act of taking or receiving something offered

                        Favorable reception, approval or favor

                       Act of believing

                       Act of being accepted

God openly invites all to accept his gift of forgiveness of sins and live a life glorifying Him and spending eternity with Him. While He puts this offer out, he also intends to accept all who seek him. Each and every person has a desire to feel wanted and accepted. You are being offered an invitation into a life of acceptance. This takes a special kind of love to accept us as we are that only God can offer.

What is your response to this offer of acceptance? Is it thankfulness? Is it skepticism? Is it a complete and utter rejection? It may vary by your season of life, but for us it is thankfulness. We hope you will join us in discussing contemporary issues in todays’ world in light of this wonderful kind of acceptance we humbly enjoy.

Nothing but Thankful

While it's easy to think about being thankful when there is a holiday created to focus on thankfulness, but I think I could be more thankful on a daily basis. Thankfulness is an important step to self acceptance. We may not admit it, but we all struggle with self acceptance in some way or another. In order to be accepted by others we have to accept ourselves. Being thankful is a great daily step we can all take. Even if others won't accept us, we can accept ourselves. In that vein, I'd like to list (below) many things that I should be thankful for every day.

I've always lived in a environment that protects me from the elements. Sometimes a sleeping bag under the stars, other times in a tent, but mostly in some kind of housing. Thanks :)  I hope and pray for others to have the same. 

I've always had enough to eat to sustain myself long term. Sometimes it was pancakes with no butter or syrup because we had no money, but mostly three squares a day. Thanks :) I hope and pray for others to have the same.

I've always had someone to talk to and be friends with during my life. Sometimes it was the other kids that were bullied too, but mostly I have had great friends to share experiences with on a regular basis. Thanks :) Thanks especially to my best friend and spouse. I hope to be a good friend who shows mercy and kind honesty. I hope others can too. 

I have a great family with guiding parents, children that are caring and productive people, grand children that are discovering life. Thanks :)  I hope others have some family or friends that are like family. 

I'm on a life journey that teaches me at least one thing new a day. I am thankful to be able to think clearly and have a body that still works well for my age. I hope others can discover and create in ways that make them feel good. 

I'm thankful for the beauty of nature when I make time to stop and enjoy it. Soak in nature. 

I'm thankful for resources I can share with others that don't have the basics. Share a little something.

My main problem is I don't continually think in a thankful spirit as I go through my day to day activities. Let's hope that we can all do that be thankful on at least a daily basis. I appreciate all my readers and hope I can continue to serve as a helpful blogger. Happy Thanksgiving for my US friends !!!!

We All Need Acceptance

We all, as humans, want to belong and feel apart of something. To that end, this new blog is being created to discuss acceptance and how we can be part of something even if it is discussing this blog site. Officially the definition of acceptance is "the action or process of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group"  Our hope is to spur folks to discuss contemporary and current topics as they relate to being human.  The first series will be discussing the new Star Wars Movie Rogue One as it deeply raises great discussions around what folks can do as a group or a collective. 

Please join in on the discussions as we hope this blog becomes one of interest over time. We are certainly open to discuss topics of your interest and create a sparking post to get things going. Please comment on topics that would help you with acceptance and personal growth or send us an email at Acceptanceone@gmail.com. Perhaps this blog can be a good place to show acceptance. We look forward to what sprouts and grows here.