Power of a surrendered Life

if you watch the news it seems the world is on a downward spiral toward distraction. however, hardly ever is good news reported on. Human nature finds it easier to have faith in the bad news rather than the good. Fear is actually faith or hope in reverse.



 You hear about the racism, broken relationships, murder, robbery, injustice and hate in the world. But for each instance of these, there is the other side, how many times have people worked together inclusively with no regard to race or differences this week? How many relationships bloomed or celebrated longevity?  How many lives have been saved? how many times has someone given to someone in need? How many times has right been done for victims? How many times has Love been demonstrated to someone who needed it? We do not hear about these but they do exist and happen very often, though unreported.



Now, I am a realist, and I know this world can be a dangerous place, but I choose to not live my life in fear, only aware. I am not suggesting a natively way of living or a denial of reality. That would not be faith but delusion. However I am saying that these is a force for Good in this world that shows itself as Loving and for our good. For me this is who God is.



There are a lot of definitions for God. As many as there are people. But for me, there is only one that is necessary- God is Love! This revelation of God trumps all limiting and conflicting definitions of God. I do not get bogged down with petty arguments or personal interpretation of scriptures with people. Your god may be jealous, judgmental and have a grudge to settle. He may be hateful and enjoy punishing the wicked. However this god that many ascribe to, is not Love and actually has some major anger management issues.



My God, who I might say, has defined himself or herself (God has no gender) by demonstrating Love to me at the most unexplainable times. Times when I thought for sure I deserved a more harsh treatment, God was loving, caring and present. So religion has come too late to tell me God is anything other than love. Many of the attributes religion places on god, does not describe God but describes humankind at its worst. Their brand of god, neither deserves worship or commitment.



Some would ask, what about  scripture? It reveals a God that is not just love. Well scripture is a revelation of humankind's evolution of understanding the divine. I love the Bible, but I do not worship it, and I recognize it is only as perfect as the people who penned it. If all we needed was the Old revelation of who God is, then there would have been no need for Christ. Christ came to set the record straight and reveal the true nature of God.



God has gotten a bad wrap and religion has done God a major disservice by propagating bad news, instead of the Good News that Christ commissioned her to preach.



With all of that said, when I understand God as Love and Good and that His/Her plan for me is for my good (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28) then I can trust that in this flow of goodness in my life. I can look forward with hope and surrender to Life instead of living a life of resisting it.



Living a life of surrender means first accepting things for how they are. Then taking responsibility for our part of what we can do about it. Then trust (surrender) that the Grace and wisdom for God to do what we can't do for ourselves. This is a life of faith and this kind of surrendered life brings about Peace, Joy and a restfulness that enables one to enjoy life and enjoy it to the full. (John 10:10). We either live in a way where the joy of life is stolen from us daily or its Joy is revealed daily. I endeavor to choose the latter. It doesn't come natural to me, but I am not called to live simply naturally, I am more than that and so are you!



Peace!

I am back… more to come!

I know it has been a while since my last post. My plan is to Post on a much more regular basis from here on out. Much as been going on in both the world and my life, However I am still putting to practice's some of the principles that I have discussed in the past. The power of surrender is still one of the greatest gifts that God has given me. When things begin to be overwhelming I simply take those thoughts emotions and situations and surrender them to God. The other gift that makes life so much more manageable is staying in the present. Guilt and Shame come from living in the past, worry comes from living in the future, and peace comes from living in the present. I look forward to sharing many thoughts and ideas with you in the future! Peace!

Olympics 2014

There has been a lot said about the current Russian government and it's views about LGBT people.  Some have suggested that the  Olympics should be boycotted.  However I think that the attention that this human right issue gets in the  Olympic limelight is a positive thing. 

Although I wish those of  the Olympics committee that choose the hosting city would consider human rights when making their selection, we should not punish our athletes for political reasons. These young men and women have worked hard to represent our country. 

So although I am not a Putin fan, I still look with pride as our athletes and those of our sister Nations come together to celebrate life and sport.

It's the governments and people with political agendas that I take issue with, but the people, whether they are the athletes or the Russian people hosting us are just people. We all want the Same things in life.

My hopes are that these games will be a success. May all stay safe and represent freedom well!

Faith and Doubt- a place to start

As I stated in my  earlier post, I started reading Jay Bakker's book, Faith and Doubt recently.

It is a great read so far and very challenging to my comfort zone, which I love. (I know something is wrong with me).

As the late Jamie Buckingham said, " the truth shall set you free but first it  will make you miserable. "

Jay speaks to many of the doubts I have had and I believe most Christians If they were honest about it.

I will go into more about the book when I have finished it.

There is today a distrust or lack of interest in what many call religion.

On one the side of the coin you have a blind but ignorant holding to old ideals that seem to fly in the face of fact or reason. These ideals are simply held to because they are sacred teachings that have been handed down and must not ever be questioned or we might have to admit we got some things wrong. Which is a problem because we were told God gave us these teachings. When in fact we looked at scripture through our own prejudice and inferences.  Ok, let go of the pride or in today's vernacular, Get over yourself!
On the other side of the coin are those who in light of the latter's extremism would rather throw out the baby with the bath water and believe nothing. This would make everything much easier and if I am honest the thought has occurred to me as well, but this denies the spiritual nature of human beings which brings it's own bankruptcy and consequences to living a fulfilled life.

There is a better way without giving into either extreme.

I believe if the Christian faith is going to have any relevance in society today, it will need to get serious with the discrepancies and disconnect it has with most  people today or  it will go the way of every other outdated obsolete  idealogy. Don't get me  wrong, I believe the message of Christ, the Gospel (Good News) is very relevant.  It's the mockery and institution that religion has built in its place that needs to be dealt with.

This will be some of the discussion I will be having on this blog.