It's a B to the G fit to a T Thing

Dear America,

"God, Home and Country"

NSDAR Motto

indeed

so yesterday, my DAR chapter celebrated its final meeting until the fall; for all intents and purposes, we go dark just when the sun is shining its brightest.  

to honor the last meeting, the intention was to invite someone who would simply inspire us to keep up the good fight, to remind us of who we are and what we do, and send us on our way --  as we all go our separate ways -- with the same kind of spirit and enthusiasm as the year began.   Our speaker was lined up months in advance -- because she is just that special.

Who knew, that from the time we booked her in early January,  that it would cap off such an emotional year, a springtime entrenched in melancholy and loss of one of our own, one of our very best, one of our very brightest.  It was as if the sun, itself, went down, and out, for good.

The chapter was awfully thirsty by the time Chaplain LaToya Zavala LT. USN, made her appearance.

....we didn't even realize how parched.

and what comes to mind when we hear the word parched...
perhaps arid, scorched, withered, and dry -- yes, dry as dust --  a desert comes to mind...yes, yes, lost in the desert.  Thirsty, so so thirsty.

About a month out, she asked of what kind of presentation we were looking for, and we exchanged emails to that end and I forgot all about it.  But lo and behold, just how did she open her remarks on the day?  Poking a little fun at the tall order -- and hearing her tell it, continues to make me giggle still twenty four hours later. For I had asked her to speak of the DAR motto, to motivate the troops after such a blistering spring, and springboard us into summer with enough fire in our bellies to come back in October with bells on and ringing mightily...all in fifteen minutes, LaToya would add.   yeah, yeah, that was the funny part.

And, have to admit, it was all true.  I asked her to move mountains, to bring us out of the desert -- to bring a presentation like no other presentation that's come before, and complete the mission in fifteen minutes.  

And guess what?

SHE DID!

In real life, LaToya personifies the NSDAR motto to a T.

GOD:  By trade, she is a chaplain -- BA in Pastoral Theology, with a minor in Biblical Languages, and Master of Divinity, with post-graduate work in Clinical Pastoral Education...and, after joining the Navy, with tours of duty around the world, she is currently stationed at Camp Pendleton, serving the pastoral needs of our fine marines.   They are so lucky to have her loving council everyday.

HOME:  Per her bio, Chaplain LaToya is happily married and mother of two, while on the cusp of receiving an adoption, thereby expanding her home and family to the power of five, or maybe six (considering they are open to receiving siblings).  And what a joy it must be to have LaToya as a mother, that's all I have to say.  Scratch that.  It's not all -- for this woman radiates pure divinity and grace, all the while keeping at the ready a certain boldness, strength, and command; and this is precisely what it takes to do the good works of motherhood, if you intend to do it well.

COUNTRY:  This speaks for itself; there is a clear love of country when you are willing to give your  own life in its security and protection.  She is so bold in this arena of defending our nation, this country, she swore to the following oath: 

"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the _____ (Military Branch) of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

so help me GOD. indeed indeed.

LaToya IS  God, IS Home, IS Country, all wrapped up in a beautiful, joyful, compassionate and passionate, package.

Our chapter was so blessed to have her for a day.

LaToya moved us from the start, declaring just how much our culture has marginalized our relationship with God, placing this relationship with our Creator, generally speaking, firmly into something less-than, parched by the ever-increasing secular dominance of toning down our faith as a way of co-existing.   It's as if we carelessly say, oh It's around, this God, but essentially, we can't abide by the commandments of our faith when it comes to the day to day.  And above all, we have to be quiet about It.

It's as if, culturally, we are allowed to recognize God, but not really; God is just up there, in the heavens somewhere away from here.  But maybe we shouldn't even be so bold as to say that.  Perhaps, we must tone it down even a wee bit more, and refer to this thing, this so-called feeling of  God, as merely something divine that may, or may not be, high above, that may, or may not, lead us; and just maybe we give this something the glory only when we feel like it.

OH and she is so right.

From my Jesus Calling, just this morning:  

"Relax in My Healing, holy Presence.  Be still while I transform your heart and mind... Do not be like the Pharisees who multiplied regulations, creating their own form of  'godliness.'  They got so wrapped up in their own rules that they lost sight of Me.  Even today, man-made rules about how to live the Christian life enslave many people.  Their focus is on their performance, rather than on Me.  It is through knowing Me intimately that you become like Me.  This requires spending time alone with Me.  Let go, relax, be still, and know that I am God."

LaToya -- the one who fits the DAR motto to a T -- hit this very reality of a certain cultural conformity to a watered down version of our faith in God, with a capital G, to a capital T, and then some.

Within the first five -- of the paltry fifteen minutes I gave her -- we found ourselves screaming shouts of joy and thanksgiving to our faith, to our God.  And it was good, so GOOD.

From one of my favorite books, Real Christianity, by William Wilberforce -- 

"To place the glory of anything over the glory of God is idolatry...Whatever draws our heart from Him, engrosses our minds or holds the number one spot in our affection is an idol.  Only God is to be the object of our supreme worship...

At the risk of repeating myself, let me point out the false thinking that exists about the nature of authentic faith.  True faith is something that so pervades our lives that it affects everything we do.  It is a matter of the heart, where its reality becomes our supreme influence.  It seeks to root out anything that is contrary to its truth and attempts to bring all the heart's desires and affections under control."

The Pharisees got so wrapped up in their own rules that they lost sight of Me...

True faith is something that so pervades our lives that it affects everything we do.

We were a thirsty bunch, indeed. 

The thing is:  It took someone completely outside our bubble to wake us, enliven our spirits once more, and remind us of the good we do and from where it all comes.  With a splash of  water here, and a splash of water there, suddenly a room once brimming with weary faces, came alive again simply by being within earshot of a gentle fountain of faith, trickling up with the fundamentals and the ideals back behind our motto, carrying on with nothing short of exuberance while flashing a smile a mile wide. 

And considering our group is more amenable to these ideals in the first place --  as in, she was preaching to the choir -- it just goes to show that even the best of us need fresh sustenance, a daily dose of manna for the road ahead.

If it's not us declaring to God be the Glory, then what gives us any hope for any kind of future?

Our nation's own history proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that we, as a people, were so full of faith, that we declared it everywhere!   We gave God the glory on buildings, like court houses and municipalities; we gave God the glory in schools, allowing time set aside for personal prayers; we gave God the glory, and printed, as such, on our money, ensuring that God received the credit for our abundance and every good thing, as we exchanged money for goods and services.

Just look at what is happening now -- freedom from religion has usurped the value and security of the greatest, fundamental freedom, the greatest ideal, for which America stands. This freedom from religion nonsense claims "to promote nontheism and defend the constitutional separation between religion and government...."   When what they really want to do is dismantle our very foundation of God, Home and Country, from which America was made...albeit naturally, organically, and with bold reverence!

So are we to believe, that for a country founded on religious freedom, a separation from the Church of England controlling our lives, by taxation and otherwise, we are to cease being mindful of, and exercising, our true faith in God?  That we can only be religious at night, behind closed doors, or better still, in the dark?

When, the fact remains -- if in reference to a people of authentic faith -- there is to be no separation from this God in our daily life; what becomes unconstitutional, then,  is the masking of our faith, the hiding in the shadows of our faith.   Just what do you think will happen, once this butchery of our history,  our beliefs, our founding principles, takes hold without regret?  [Just for the record, all self-righteousness set aside, we are seeing it with our own eyes as we speak.]

God!

Home!

Country!

Truth is, "[W]hen the cement that has held a nation together no longer exists, the state soon dissolves into anarchy."  just another little something from Real Christianity...

God MUST come first, for this relationship is not only the most important, it gives us the foundation, the strength, the stillness, the peace, the home and country -- fit to make our way in the every day, every moment of the day, whether called to the needs of home or country.  

God centers us, and fills us, overflowing,  with everything we need, fit to meet every hope, every dream, every need -- every everyday concern for goodness sake --  with bells on, and ringing mightily, madly, deeply.

For God so loved the world; for God IS the Creator of all the world, of all things, seen and unseen.

It is Sunday.  And it is a good. 

And my heart is full -- thanks to the reservoir of this clay jar -- me -- being filled to the brim through positive words of encouragement based in faith in God.  So, to LaToya, my muse, goes my gratitude. 

But even LaToya would surely agree, that it is To God -- Savior, King of Kings, Jehovah, Creator of ALL Things, fit to a T with a capital G --  Be the Glory, Forever and Forever.  amen.

this is just my blog to the G, fit to a T, Thing.  amen.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a First Love kinda Thing

Dear America,

"Wouldn't a more loving legacy

 be for them [our children] 

to find shards of our passionate rejoicing

 in the life we cherished so much 

that we lived it and they knew it?"  

Sarah Ban Breathnach, 

Something More

doncha just love this?

And to think it came within the body of an essay under the title, "Self-Immolation!"  An essay that recounts the broken hearts of women -- after bear witness to the story of Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid in The Bridges of Madison County -- and hence, using this sad, sordid affair of love and lust and loss to explain how women sometimes just give up having, or creating, the authentic life they so desire completely and wholeheartedly somewhere down the line. 

To which I must add -- show me that woman, and I'll show you someone totally out of touch with her connection to the natural, pure, unconditional love of the Great Spirit from which she was divined.

"Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.   So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:16-18

And not only is she out of touch, according to my little golden book Jesus Calling -- in this morning's devotion we are reminded that we cannot serve two masters.  "If I am the Master of your life, I will also be your First Love...The joy of living in My Presence outshines all other pleasures..."  [as written by another Sarah...Sarah Young ;) ]

Because if we are connected to This Almighty Source of ALL Good, ALL Peace that passes understanding, ALL love, completely and unconditionally and at all times -- all these precious things, this true living from this highest level of passion,  not only lights the way, IT is always there, by our side.  This kind of Great and First Love, therefore, wants us to live from this kind of passion in all of our relationships, in all ways, and present to the world a joy that bubbles over with such an effervescence that people look at us and wonder, oh my word... what did she eat for breakfast?

AND when we live from this place -- we attract the right people, the right circumstances, the right outcomes, in everything we touch...for the Holy Spirit is moving with us and through us.  The little light inside each and everyone of us begins to shine so bright, everything we come in contact reflects its magnificence right back.

The thing is -- this legacy of LIVING our passion, so much so, that it feeds into the next generation, and then into the next, and so on, explains how AMERICA of the new world became AMERICA to the whole world.  And in part -- explains how we have culturally lost our way, lost our footing, losing our appeal, our shine, as quickly as we diminish the essential connection to the Divine Providence from which we, as a country, have been so divined.   The further and further we fall away from our First Love, the more we fall apart.

And no, this girl isn't saying we have to agree on what God is....how we worship, what we practice; for certain, the other side of exercising our religious freedom is the expressed freedom to be free from any and all belief or faith whatsoever.  There is that, indeed.  For the 3% of our population who classify as atheist, and the 5% who consider to be agnostic, have at it and stay on your own path, leaving my path alone, thank you very much; and also know this: nearly eighty percent of us believe in God/practice a constitutionally protected right of free exercise thereof, of a religion of choice.  amen.

Thus, for many of us -- now strolling the bridge back to the start on the day -- if we are inclined to speak of self-immolation, such a thing may come from a far deeper understanding:   

"We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."  2 Corinthians 4:10-12

America lived from a place of living by example, and living by our faith, as a body -- having fought the Revolutionary War for such a freedom!   And from that right and perfect outcome, Divine Providence continued to lead the nation -- beginning with our early education of our children and resources like the McGuffey Readers (look it up); to our nations higher education actually coming from a certain place of HIGHER understanding -- being led, in principle and in person, by the nation's preachers (look it up...start with Reverend John Harvard, have fun); and to be sure, the colonies, themselves, were created -- probably after a day of fasting and prayer -- by men of the pulpit of one kind or another:  New Haven Connecticut, Rev.  John Davenport...Rhode Island colony, Roger Williams "the apostle of 'soul-liberty' and the champion of civil rights.  Unrestricted freedom of conscience and opinion was guaranteed"....in other words, a man fighting for "Absolute Religious Liberty"in every way....the Maryland colony, founded by Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic....SHALL I GO ON?  Because I can.  I can do this all day long.  There is not a blog post long enough to speak of the religious founders, leading a religious people, and cementing America's foundation as a predominantly Christian nation from it's start!  That is not fake news, but as a matter of fact, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.  literally.

Go ahead, double dog dare you to pick up a copy of Christianity and the American Commonwealth by Charles B. Galloway.  

So for the record:

In the macro, America has already lost it's true legacy to our children; in the micro, our babies still have a fighting chance.

In the macro, America has already lost it's ability to decipher Real Love from the lesser love we see in the movies; in the micro, our babies still have a fighting chance.

In the macro, America has already lost it's luster....for it's natural, organic, faithful, loving, responsible, solvent, body politic, has been corrupted by the lust of a fallen man, a certain greed of ill repute, having arrived at a time when absolute power corrupts absolutely, having completely forgotten our First Love;  in the micro, our babies still have a fighting chance.

Both sides of the aisle must agree, America is no longer whole.

America has been picked apart, starting at the roots:  feeding the next generation ideas worthy of repeat, leading by example in thought,word and deed...finding our strength and our True North upon High, and not below....living in integrity, knowing our purpose, our place, as we walk our divined path, fully recognizing Something More and Something Truly Great is on the throne, IS what will make AMERICA Great AGAIN.   Trump really has nothing to do with it, and that's just the ugly truth.

In order to return to love and a legacy we, as a nation, can believe in, my answer is a true Return to Love....or shall we say, First Love; and thank you, Marianne Williamson, the Illuminati of that little gem (it's a good book so go get it). But  believe me, being of reality - this girl is pretty sure there lies a chasm between us,  politically speaking -- yet, as hope springs eternal in this Aries girl, this I also know: bridges of faith and love inherently carry the ability and power to connect people of all political stripes; there is never a need to riot or protest, complete with fire bombs and rocks, when merely disagreeing with something, right.  [If you clicked that link, can we all agree there are a few people around here who clearly need a time out, or just maybe, a long walk off a short pier.]

Maybe we will never return to a day when a reverend leads Harvard; there is that.

And yet,

who says it can't happen again?

Is just the idea of recognizing our divinity so unreasonable, so frightening, that we find ourselves grasping upon anything else but?  If so, how sad, how sad.  How far we have fallen, how far we have fallen.  

The thing is, America is at a place of being redefined -- more like being re-divined, if we let it; we are being molded into something brand new, with or without our input, our permission, and sometimes, even our very consciousness.  It's happening right under our feet, over bridges, on water,  from the walkways to the freeways, in the valleys and mountains alike, from sea to shining sea.

How about we start having more of those discussions, and let the shady kind of love and lust and loss fall away,  with our complete blessing, of course.  Anyone?

Sarah Ban Breathnach chooses an Anais Nin quote right from the start --

"The fiery moments of a passionate 

experience 

are moments 

of wholeness and totality."

That is all good, and all true.

So true, in fact, every outcome, all results, are expressly made of the things we carry, organically grown from where our passions live and have their being, and essentially have their way with us.
  
Just as this girl could be said to be going G-hahd for Jesus (and only if you have read some of my last few days will you get that completely...), there are so many ways in this world to recognize a Higher Passion, a Good God, a Spiritual Integrity of Something or Other, and given our first fruits in joyful glory of this First kinda Love, 

So by all means -- choose those passions carefully; and with great hope, America may find her way back to being of one body  -- one filled and overfloweth of love and grace  -- once more.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's G is for Goodness Knows Thing

Dear America,

"The devil's most devilish when respectable." 

 Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

good one, huh

but more astonishing is where little old gthing came across this first...in the sidebar of my Bible, the Woman of Faith Study Bible, New International Version, published by Zondervan.  At the end of the Book of Hebrews, there it was, juxtaposed with one of the most beautiful epistles ever written, the "Concluding Exhortations" of Chapter 13...and all I could do was wonder, how in the world did that come about, right?  

Of course, the "conclusions" were simply good, sound advice, and if this girl may be so bold to summarize:  put your faith and trust in Christ, above all things, and peace will be with you always.

It also begins with one of my favorite verses..."Keep on loving each other as brothers.  Do not forget to entertain strangers for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."  love it, love it, love it.

And yet, it goes on,  advising us to also "[O]bey your leaders and submit to their authority.  They keep watch over you as men who must give account,  Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you."

And suddenly, reminded of a section within The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates, presented by Ralph Ketcham....Benjamin Franklin was making his case against officers in government receiving any kind of salary, when he said this:

"Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men.  These are ambition and avarice; the love of power, and the love of money.  Separately each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects.  Place before the eyes of men, a post of honour that shall be at the same time a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it...

And what kind are the men that will strive for this profitable pre-eminence, through all the bustle of the cabal, the heat of contention, the infinite mutual abuse of both parties, tearing to pieces the best of characters?  It will not be the wise and moderate; the lovers of peace and good order, the men of the fittest for the trust.  It will be the bold and the violent, the men of strong passions and indefatigable activity in their selfish pursuits,  These will thrust themselves into your Government and be your rulers-- And these too will be mistaken in the expected happiness of their situation:  For their vanquished competitors of the same spirit, and from the same motives will perpetually be endeavoring to distress their administration, thwart their measures, and render them odious to the people."

and he well continues, waging his argument upon this foundation, of the near incestuous relationship of the governing power and the governed, in a back and forth that will just take your breath away with every word.  Go read it for yourself.

But now here's the thing...(finally, right?  teehee  ...and no doubt someone will give me a big thump on the head for what I'm about to say, what    everrrr)

....where have all the gentlemen gone?

...Just    so     miss     the depth       of thought; the higher calling to serve this country; the level of civility and honor, even within a  ruckus forum of righteous and self-righteous debate between enlightened men, each hellbent to sway opinion, one way or another, while forming the very government we have so recklessly corrupted -- wrecked really --  over the years.  It's as if just acknowledging how far we have fallen doesn't do this occasion justice, it doesn't come close to realizing how much culture, itself, has changed, and how this relationship between the governing and the governed -- one that has been evolving with "modern brilliance" at breakneck speed -- mocks everything these fine gentlemen of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 did, with the dream of guaranteeing true freedom and liberty for all -- and under God -- in the making of this budding republic.

The devil is in the details, and sometimes appears awfully respectable...

The pure and the impure, of both heart and mind, share the same air and work and play among the governing and the governed, with such finesse -- boundaries are blurred easily and unceremoniously.  The sidebar, or sideshow, gets connected to the word, the true content, and suddenly, the two are so intertwined, the skill of deciphering the truths from untruths becomes a wee bit of a challenge, a force of nature unbecoming of a people of character.    And further, by our own humanity, our own perspective, our own natural inclination to be swayed by motive, politics, ambition or avarice, we allow ourselves to lose ourselves as a people of grace, good character, and profound faith -- the kind of faith that rises above the fray in peaceful allegiance to what is right and true, no matter what.

Fake news falls into the mix.

And seconded with this, another Ben Shapiro entry on the day....here's a good part: 

"3. If Lies In Politics Are Fine, Why Bother Having A Republic? The whole point of republican government is the notion that politicians are answerable to the people – and more importantly, that citizens are capable of holding politicians accountable, of judging right and wrong. If they aren’t – if it’s now morally justifiable to lie to the public in order to get the things you want – then why bother with the charade of republicanism? Why not just have a coup, install the person who will do the stuff you want, and govern that way?"

Goodness knows what is right from wrong.

As a people, as a culture always in flux -- the simple, biblical ideas separating right from wrong, devils from angels, the governing and the governed from the oppressor and the oppressed, is a mighty good fight to keep and to be in constant course correction...for our own good!

Stay alert, people; and stay true to the principles of keeping in good character with every step YOU take; and by all means, do not listen to everything you hear, or read, on the world wide web and everywhere, without a proper level of skepticism -- for Good and Evil exists, and lives, and plays, and has a field day half the time, among us.

Goodness knows we are only human, there is that.

And yet, we are all, and in all ways,  children of God; we can choose the path at every turn -- whether consciously, or  mindlessly and aimlessly; be mindful that every step we take is in the company of the Divine Providence that started it all. For you can be certain,  this nation makes its move in each new day, for better or worse, with or without you.

America has no choice but to take a hard look back, to completely review the course, in order to begin anew; and it begins with reading the works of those great minds who have come before us in the pure love of countrymen, if not, all of mankind.  The Bible would be all you ever really need...feel free to start with Hebrews, for the author (who is unknown) makes the timeless case that Christianity is all you need to know and love and keep in thy faith, in order to live fully and in peace, no matter the circumstances...and he was speaking to the Jews at the time!  

My daily devotional, Jesus Calling, is written as if Jesus is speaking; it's pretty outrageous how the author, Sarah Young, does it, too...what a talent.  Anyway, a couple days ago it went something like this:

"Let my Love enfold you...sit still in the Light of My Presence, and receive My Peace...Through this relationship, you are being transformed from the inside out.  As you keep your focus on Me, I form you into the one I desire you to be.  Your part is to yield to My creative work in you, neither resisting it nor trying to speed it up.  Enjoy the tempo of a God-breathed life by letting Me set the pace.  Hold My hand in childlike trust, and the way before you will open up step by step."

Indeed. 

But given today has been somewhat all about the gentlemen, entertaining thoughts of our muse in  gentleBens (both Franklin and Sbapiro), allow me to add just this:   the future of America rests upon the Mighty creative forces at work and play to make true gentlemen out of all of us --- and yes, this girl has no problem associating herself with such a provocative notion, for....

G  is for Gentlemen.  

G is for Girl.  

G is for Good.  

G is for God. 

G is for Goodness Knows... 

G is for Good, Godly, Self-Government, in the Grace and Peace that passes all understanding and then some, in Good measure, for Generations to come.  

That's just what its all about here at G Thing, every single day.... Good God look at me Go :)

Make it a Good Day, G

ps think it's been a great first week.  teehee for we the people