Just Let Me -- G -- Indoctrinate You!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Dear America,

happy last day of 2010.
Is it possible to speed things up just a bit?  I'm kinda in a hurry.

So people who know me, know I have been met with one catastrophe after the next in this past year; for me, I find the whole thing rather humorous, or else, really, I would probably be in the funny farm -- or at the bottom of some lagoon by now, and around here, we have many, it might take awhile to find me.  If not for playing with my daily psyche, with love, acceptance and a little laugh from time to time --  if not non-stop on some days -- who knows where I would be. 

I do make a conscious effort to surround myself with all kinds of props and pick-me-ups, just for this very reason: you never know when you need an attitude adjustment, and if one bad thing lingers into the next, the more anecdotes, pictures of good times, family, a library of books, Bible phrases, bumper stickers, significant posts of the daily horoscope, and any other kind of trafficking of transcendent powers the better is what I say; these little things we can do are not only welcome, but just may stand as the final thread we cling to when we have two inches of rope left.

Wow G, way to be positive.

Actually, fear not!  It is not all doom and gloom today, for today we get to pass it all on; we get to leave it all behind in a spiritual, physical, emotional, timely rebirthing of a new year.  And oh, not a moment too soon, thank you God!

Some years get thrown back in time, and maybe a shot of whiskey, better than others -- and this is no exception; oh the joy it will be to wake up tomorrow morning, the first day of the rest of our life, or at least another 365.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  John 16:33

Steeped in doubt, a growing, living contagion of sorts (as told earlier in chapter six), an unsettling grumbling amongst the Jews persisted, when Jesus turned to them and said, "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life...I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

It may be hard, but God wants us to live in relationship with Him, everyday, in sickness or in health; and what God wants to see in us, is that our daily struggles do not adversely affect our living in joy, no matter what the day brings.  While over time, if relying on our faith in God teaches us anything at all, it is the constant lifting up from God's word that keeps us not only in relationship with God, but keeps us safely in alignment with the principles and values we can choose to live by, and ultimately, show to serve us well -- especially when buried in tough times.

I remember a few months back, hearing the words of Joel Osteen, saying something to the affect of "if we're not careful, we will go through life in fear instead of faith."  The thing is, things may get really bad -- but fear will only add to the drama and our delinquency -- only faith can lead us into better days; only a cheerful heart can attract that which we need to overcome troubled waters.

How do we know this to be true?  I liken the experience when lost in the company of those who get stuck in negative chatter, discouraging words, or a poor me why me mentality -- the self talk does not lift the spirit up -- and just being around it can be debilitating and heavy hearted, right?  We see the affects of this everyday.


On a grander scale, we are living under the prevailing consciousness of an administration who believes first and foremost, "let us not let a crisis go to waste," using fear to motivate change!  And catastrophic change, at that.  What used to be a fundamental, enriching principle -- an entire nation's self-reliance -- built up and supported by our inherent connection to Nature's law, endowed by our Creator, maker of all things seen and unseen -- has been replaced by government, by man.  And the kicker, we did this to ourselves.

Isn't that just the way it works in our own life; we do things, sometimes without thinking it all the way through, we react, we over-react, we jump to conclusions, we make rash decisions -- and all the while, we may be making the very thing that started the downward struggle in a trickle come to a torrential flow!  IF perhaps we just stopped.  Took a breath.  Looked at all the options.  Meditated on it, prayed on it for just a day, or five minutes, before acting...how things might have turned out a whole lot different.

Admittedly, I know I'm not smart enough to get around in this world without my faith, in God, and more important,  I am sooooooooo not ashamed to tell you.   But  read Psalm 91, if you will, just a few verses is all you really need to hear. Highlighted by Joel, on the very same day he is reminding us to cling to faith, not fear; the psalm begins with  "he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High..."

In Joel Osteen fashion, he quickly remembers a story of a miracle discovered in Yellowstone Park -- recounting a few years back, when they had the horrific fires rage through, a ranger came upon the wings of  what used to be a beautiful, majestic bird.  He got down closer to it, overcome by the loss of one of the park's finest and lifted up a corner of her burnt wing...when he did so, running out from the cover of a mama's pure love came her babies!  Unharmed! and ready for whatever life was to bring them.

"surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of the night, not the arrow that flies by day..." Psalm 91:3-5

Living in faith brings new life, everlasting, no matter what we face.  And when you get right down to it, the truth is, entire nations have risen and fallen by the ebb and flow of a simple faith. 

Obama brought his family to church over the Christmas Holiday, something he doesn't normally do when inside the beltway.  Perhaps he is realizing just how important our founding principles might be; perhaps, he, too, will return from vacation enlivened in the new year to see through his duties and responsibilities with the grace and peace and understanding of living in relationship with God, and lead the nation, by example,  into better days to come.  That is, certainly, hope this girl can believe in.

We have much to do in the new year; while in actuality, a closer look would tell us, we have much to take away.  Hard times have probably only just begun for a nation buried in debt, deficit spending, while growing all the more accustomed to false-Gods and a government living large abusing the rule of law by the fumblings of man -- a behemoth of uncertainty and wickedness all the way around.

We are witness to a time when we know deep in our heart more government is not the answer; and as a matter of record over the last hundred years, the un-serving, overbearing, and unfortunately, more prevalent belief system, rotting from the inside out, wreaked in entitlements and regulation, breeding secular, fear based reaction, versus a life of faith, is keeping us from all that is good; but oh the joy to know we are flourishing under the refuge of a Higher Purpose under Heaven, we were just waiting for someone to lift the wing.

One of the many sayings pinned up on the wall next to me came from an ad (god knows what it was for) but it simply reads:
CELEBRATE WHAT'S NEXT

This is good enough for me to end ten, and move onto eleven...how about you?

Make it a Good Day  --
for at the very least it remains good karma for tomorrow, G

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