What Christmas is to me

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Christmas to me represents "Good News."  As the story goes, the Jews hoped and prayed for a king.  They were oppressed by the Roman Empire and Israel was seen as an undisireable outpost in the desert.  These people needed some good news, but never expected it to come in a fashion as Christianity identifies the coming of their Savior.

The good news is that God used the absolute least likely circumstance to send the greatest gift the world has ever seen.  A child from the most humble beginnings, that would grow up into a man that, never wrote a book, was not a world traveler, on radio or television, and was literally hated to death by the current religious system.

Yet this man, like no other that has ever walked the face of the earth, before or since, has had the most profound effect on every inhabitant since.  The world was never the same.

The good news for us, whether you believe in a virgin birth, or in heaven or hell as actual physical places or not, is that God always uses the least likely.  Throughout the Bible the least likely are used.  Mary and Joseph were unimportant people. The lowly Shepherds were the first to be told by the Angels of Jesus' arrival in the disgusting surroundings.

Peter and all the disciples, the woman at the well, Mary being the first to know about the ressurection, Saul to Paul, all of them, least likely parts of society.

The Bible clearly states it like this -

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are...

That is the good news!! That you and I and everyone that is deemed by society as low, less than, worthless or undesireable, is exactly what God chooses.

That is what Christmas day represents to me.  Society no longer dictates, but a new government, a new domain, a new kingdom rules in the end and we are it's prize possession!

I have some cockeyed views that the man made system of religion rejects but I seek Truth as it is revealed to me and as I understand it to be.  I  seek it and live it fearlessly, for I am to please God and not man.

I say with full conviction that surrendering my life to Jesus has been the biggest positive influence in my life to this day and today I have never been more thankful, felt so blessed, so full of joy or more prosperous.  I believe Jesus can transform any life he is invited into.

I reject the man made religious system that many call church and fully embrace God outside the walls and in a life that I hope demonstrates more and more the exact Freedom that the gift of an infant in a stinking manger with animals and all of society busy doing their thing so much they didn't recognize the significance of this child, is.

He came to set the captives free and to bring us life more abundantly!

Merry Christmas

All things NEED...

I see ALL things as needy.  Every plant, animal and human has needs for survival and beyond.  Not just basic needs, like nourishment and water, but relational.  The bee needs the flower and the flower needs the dirt and the rain needs the sky.

Maslow describes levels of need...

and it is my experience that unless and until we obtain one level we can not move to the next.

We are relational NEEDY beings.  Everything is intrinsically connected through relation.  Major, minor, primary, secondary, advantageous, opportunistic, healthy and unhealthy... they're all necessities.

Some would argue that there are wants and then there are needs.  We don't Need potato chips, yet we Need the salt in them and the starchy carb.  My point is it is a matter of perspective.  As we wander through the grocery store with kids in the cart, they grasp for various products designed to capture their attention and create a need for it.  Parents reply "you don't need that."  We reason that starving children need water and food, we don't need cup cakes and soda pop.  Understood, but...

There is a payoff for everything we do.  Even when what we're doing is destructive to our self, we are filling a need.  A deep seated need.  Healthy or not, it is indeed a need.

We get into unhealthy relationships and we come out despising the use of the word need, especially with a capital N.

We can rationalize that we can get by with less and there are many wants and few needs.  I beg to differ.

We have NEEDS  We're taught that God will meet all our needs.  And in some respects, exceed them more than you can ask or imagine!

In Christ Jesus, God meets the ultimate NEED... to be invited, accepted and loved unconditionally.  We're not even capable of providing this to our selves consistently through out our lives.  But when we know better, we do better.

I hope you come to know the unconditional love that is available within you. An eternal source waiting to be tapped and let it's life giving, transformational flow release in and through your life for generations to come.

Through this need to be accepted and loved, I learned to Trust and Trust is the very foundation of all healthy relationships.

It's okay to be a skeptic.
It's okay to doubt.
It's okay to question.
It's okay to be afraid and feel vulnerable... when learning to trust as the walls we've built around our heart comes tumbling down.

Trust is earned.

I trust if you challenge God to be all God claims to be, your life will never be the same and generations that follow will benefit from this process and come to understand the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Peace I give to you ~ Jesus

Yeah, I want peace and love and trust in my life.  I need these things in my life and I need to share these things with others.

I invite you, I accept you, I love you... the trust thing, well develop together along the journey  :o)

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Just my perspective

David

Distinctive and Unmistakable

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My wife and I were listening to Van Morrison's greatest hits, she really likes the Celtic Spiritual type songs that you'd never hear on the radio.  I said his voice is distinctive and unmistakable and it hit me... that is the way I  see God.  Too much of churchianity, religiosity and even the literalist's interpretation of the Bible is too vague for me.  Too wide.  Its not that I want to limit God in any way, in fact I can't limit God to any particular dogma, denomination or religion.

As much problem as I have had, trying to figure out God and being vague myself, in the moment that I described Van Morrison's voice, i realized, I had described the moves of God in my life.

I believe we are capable of good outside of God even with our equal ability to do no good or evil as well.  I believe we can prosper outside of  God.  Jesus even said the bad folks love their own kind.

But I do believe that Love, prosperity and goodness are things that follow Godliness.  And in Godliness I mean, loving your neighbor and if you're capable, even loving your enemy.  I had an occasion today where I was quite perturbed at the treatment I was getting from a pharmacist.  But in the end, I killed em with kindness.  The day turned out much better than I could have allowed it to be, had I been ugly in return.

Not everything I see is God.  Not everything that is pretty and good and loving is God, in my opinion and perspective.  But there are things I see, things I witness, things I hear, and deeds that are done that are distinctively G O D.

Unmistakable in their Samartanish selflessness are the moves of God in our lives.  Yes, sometimes in whispers, and we miss some, but never ever do moves of God not produce good fruit, in it's appointed time.

I just wrote today to share a revelation.  Much like what happened to these guys as recorded in the book of LukeI suspect -

³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:31-33

God's movement in our lives, in my perspective is distinctive and unmistakable.

Peace --

David

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I'm thankful for men in my life that helped me understand what it is to be a man.

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I've got some letters to write.  One to a friend who I have not been communicating with as much as I'd like to.  I believe we've drifted apart because of our different views on the Bible; he's literal, I'm figurative.

Another is to my Father in law.  I think of him often, probably daily, because I am so thankful for my wife.

Today is Memorial Day and I am thinking of those who gave their lives so that I may live as I please.  I have a very personal connection to such people and I am extremely thankful for them.  They had a profound effect on my life.  Today, I live in my dream home because of these very men and their effect on my life.

I was contemplating the symbolism of the Father of the Bride walking his daughter down the aisle and handing her to the next man in her life.  The one that is replacing her Father.

If that Father was all that a man should be.  If he set the example to her by providing, encouraging, educating and loving, then it is a tall order for a young man to step in and become what her Daddy was and more.

So, when I look at my wife and feel so incredibly blessed, I think of her parents and her Daddy is just such a man that did what a man is supposed to do.  What a good man is supposed to do.  What a Father and Husband and a mature adult is supposed to do.  He set the mark, he set the example by which the daughter should measure a man.

For me it is a tall order to fill those shoes.  I did not have the example to follow.  My dad failed miserably and my older brothers were damaged and unable to give me what I needed.   I found a few along the way that I'd grab tidbits of inspiration from to learn, grow and mature on.  I remember them for those things fondly.

Few and far between, I'd trial and error my way through most of life pushing the envelop so to speak.  Trying to find the lines and move them to new places.

Without making this a long story, I really just want to say thank you to the men in my life that have helped shape the man that my wife love and admires today.

I could not have done it with out you and I'm thankful.  I have the most amazing life I could ever have imagined, living in the most amazing house with the most amazing wife.  Somebody pinch me, it's almost too good to be true!

* on a personal note to Haskell Tarlton, my wife's Father, thank you for being a great man in preparing my wife to be the most wonderful woman I have ever known.  You were her biggest cheerleader and showed a great work ethic.  You were a great provider and a tender man that demonstrated how a man should treat his wife.  And thank you for taking care of your self to this day.  Drinking lots of water, continuing an active life style, eating right and getting up to go walk.  We want you around for as long as possible.

**to Ralph Moore, thank you for leading me to and listening to God and for being a friend when I needed one most.

* * * to Jesus, no matter my varying view of things, you are undeniably the greatest influence in my life.  Thank you for always being there and leading men like Haskell Tarlton, Ralph Moore, Capt. John Nesbit and Bill Ruff into my life.

Blurring the lines

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Music often blurs the lines and it's beautiful.

We tend to clear cut define things.  Categorize and label.

And we don't like anything outside the lines.  It's not authentic.  It doesn't qualify.

The status quo has drawn their lines in the sand.  Society has judged.

Yet something beautiful has been born... and rejected.

Sound familiar?

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

People blur lines.  They do it with food, with music, fashion, gender and sexuality to name a few.

And it's beautiful, yet many, too many reject anyone who steps outside their clear defined and comfortable lines.

Jesus did that and they handed him over to be crucified.  Gays do it and they get ridiculed and beaten.

There are even some gays who belittle bi-sexuals, citing, "they're just confused."

Dogma, doctrine, denomination, belief, practice... all lines.

House church is a blurred line.  They're changing the rules of how you do church.  Be the church etc.



Blur a line... do it today!

Embrace a blurred line.

Embrace someone who blurs the lines.

You do it for Jesus.

Do it for who he did it for -

EVERYBODY!

We're all blurred lines of what our predecessors are.

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‎"To love anyone is to hope in them always. From the moment at which we begin to judge anyone, to limit our confidence in them, from the moment at which we identify [label] them, and so reduce them to that, we cease to love them, and they cease to be able to become better. We must dare to love."


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Pia Toscano - the state of things

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I enjoy watching American Idol. I believe this year's series to have the best group of talent. Recently Pia Toscano did not have enough votes to continue and was eliminated from competition. It is a crying shame. Just watch this -




It reminds me of the age old "she's good looking, surely she must be here with someone," girl whom no one asks to dance.

Pia was neglected.  People figured she was  a shoe in.  She is pretty and she is talented.  We don't need to vote for her, the majority of others will vote for her and when it counts, we'll get involved.

Well, there are a ton of Pia's out there, both beautiful and forgettable, who get neglected.

When are we going to stop assuming and just ACT?

When you know, when your gut tells you, how can you not ACT.

Here are some other Pia's I know that could use your help.

goto Waters Edge Ministries and make a difference in a life forever today!

Imagine

It's a Journey

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When life is not so good, it stinks.

When life is great, it smells like roses.

It's a Journey.

I love the highs and I despise the lows.

I love warmer weather and colorful flowers blooming.

I despise the freeze that wilts them away.

I love the warmth of fire on a cold winter night.

I hate the gas bill when it arrives.

I love the precious gift that my wife is.

I hate that I'm a bumbling fool who sometimes hurts her feelings when I should just shut up.

I rejoice with other's victories,

I agonize over the pain I see them endure.

I should learn to embrace the bad with the good.

I asked for it.

I want all God has to give...

the highs have no earthly comparison.

The lows...
are what I must share in...

to complete the journey.

I press on and cling to the Hope...

that Christ will lead me to be a better man tomorrow than I am today.

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I do not know when you'll take me home to Paradise with You,

the day when I will finally be free
oh the day, when You come back for me!
(lyrics by JJ Heller)

If You'd Told Me...

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If you'd told me ten years ago, that I'd own a home

If you'd told me ten years ago, that Id be married to the woman of my dreams

If you'd told me ten years ago, that I'd be going on annual missions to Africa with her

If you'd told me ten years ago, that my relationship with my son would be restored

If you'd told me ten years ago, that I'd be paid more than ever

If you'd told me ten years ago, that I'd give more than ever

If you'd told me ten years ago, that I'd have more friends than ever

If you'd told me ten years ago, that I'd find inner Peace, Purpose and learn to Trust God as the very best relationship life has to offer

If you'd told me ten years ago, that everything the enemy ever stole from me would be restored

I wouldn't have been able to fathom it.  I'd have thought it was unachievable.  I'd accuse you of having delusions of grandeur,

but...

I'd have secretly wished it were true and hoped it could actually happen and I'd have prayed...

Please God, save me from me.  I have met the enemy and it is me.  Help me surrender to your higher ways.

Please don't allow me to have a license to be irresponsible.

Don't give to me until I am ready to honor You with it!

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Thank You God for hearing my prayers and showing me there is strength in surrender and proving to me Your promises are true.

Thank you for sharing with me, even though I did nothing to deserve it.

God, You are the best relationship I have ever had and the rewards I reap from sowing (surrendering) into it are more than I can ask or imagine.

Life has never been better and I am thankful to You for it, God.

I thank you Lord,
for the Helmet of Salvation
for the Breastplate of Righteousness
the Shield of faith
the Sword of the Spirit
the Belt of Truth
and with our feet fixed in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ,

Lord help us to recognize the opportunities and
give us the courage to act upon them.

Thank you for our friends, our families and our homes.
Please deliver us safely to and from our destinations this day
and bring glory to You in a life of service to all of your creation!

Amen
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School of Life... the inevitable - Trust

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It is what it is.

I despise that kind of blanket statement that explains nothing.  I have to tear things apart and get inside them and figure out why.  For God's sake, WHY?  Why oh why do we have to endure things in this life, on this journey.  The undesirable things.  Why do we develop self defeating behaviors, why can we not see out of our own dilemma?

The enemy forces are lined up on our borders.  We're surrounded and we keep doing what we do.  Peril is at every turn, barely held off by some invisible force and we survive to struggle another day, another week...

Enough to dig the hole deeper.  Enough to weaken the levy, until...

It's inevitable.  I don't like it.  I don't like that it's going to happen and there's nothing I can do about it.

Maybe it's another control issue... I have.

Maybe it's an opportunity to surrender... my will... and see... there is a plan... and it's better than mine.

It's not bad to want to help, but oh how we don't, we enable... prolong... the inevitable.

We stave off the gift, the lesson learned in reaping what we've sown.  The reward of enduring and seeing...

the gift of Prevenient Grace.

I'm feeling, I'm learning, I'm beginning to understand the depth of empathy, concern, caring and pain of parenthood... (a fraction of what my Mama has endured) but I'm getting a taste.

The wanting to help, yet understanding that the prodigal must go his way and find himself.

And I must be prepared for the return... to run into the field, no questions asked and embrace him.

In the mean time, as I endure the daily pain, I can only pray and surrender deeper and deeper into the unfathomable comfort of God's most excellent way.

The endless supply of Understanding, Love and Acceptance and give thanks for where I am...

in consideration of where I came from.

ALL Promises Kept!

I give Thanks.

I lean on you more and more God to help me leave it in your hands and do the only thing you ever asked me to do.

TRUST

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