(a 3 minute read) Mindy was explaining to Adam that her boyfriend once ruined a book she was reading. Her boyfriend said to her, “You will be shocked when the heroin of this story dies at the end.” Mindy was describing to Adam how livid she was with her boyfriend for ruining the book for her. “I threw the book on the ground and yelled at him off top of my lungs, and I never read that book again. For it is a waste of time to read a book when you already know the ending”, she exclaimed.

You should have been there to see the puzzled look on Mindy’s face when Adam, without responding to her story, started telling a story of his own that had nothing to do with what she just said.

“I was in my mid-twenties when I almost died”, Adam began to tell his tale. Mindy was pretty indifferent to Adam in the beginning. “Then there was a helicopter waiting when the ambulance pulled at the local hospital”. Mindy’s ears were perking at this point. Adam continued, “I could not open my eyes as the pain was excruciating, but I could clearly hear everything going on around me. I knew I am having a heart attack and this is the day I die.” Mindy’s arms were wrapped around her body, so as to hold herself tight. Her mouth was wide open, shocked to hear Adam’s description of his situation at the time. You could clearly see that Mindy was all in at this point. As Adam was taking a breath in between sentences, Mindy shouted, “Then what happened?”

Adam explained that through complications, he was in and out of the hospital for about three months, but things were all taken care of and he pulled through. He heard Mindy exhale loudly as a load has been lifted off of her chest.

“You see my dear Mindy”, Adam said with a beaming smile, “although you knew the ending of my story, as I stand here in front of you, you were engaged as I told you what happened. You were sad when things were going bad for me, and became delighted as I finished my story.”

“It is not really the end of the book that matters. If you CARE about the ‘subject’, then it is living through the journey that indeed matters.”

Some claim to know the end of their story and exclaim where they will be at the end. Some claim they do not know where they will end up at the end, and some question if there is somewhere to end up.

Whichever way you think, it matters not what the end is.  ENGAGE in your daily life regardless of what you believe and regardless of what you think of what he or she believes. The fact is, we are all here together living our daily life. And tomorrow………………. who knows.

COOPERATE        UNIFY          LIAISE            COALESCE           COLLABORATE         CARE

Not because you claim a happy ending means you just point to it, and beware as you may become callus to others because of your happy ending. CARE & ENGAGE 🙂 

(3 minute read) Sue and Tom are sitting on a crisp cool day enjoying their drinks at their favorite Starbucks. Tom was taking in the aroma of his fresh brewed drink when he heard, “When I say Privileged, what does that bring to your mind?”

Tom opened his eyes and smiled at Sue, “Well, I think of affluent, rich, powerful, well-to-do person.”

Sue remarked, “So Privileged does not conjure up humble or unpretentious, does it?” Now Tom all into the conversation is already googling the definition of Privilege and says, “The definition says a special right or immunity granted or available to a particular person or group of people. So no, I do not see unpretentious or humility associated with privileged.” Tom continued as he is chuckling, “If you ask me and you did, a person in a privileged position typically ends up exercising power and control over others.” Tom with an extended arm and a huge smile on his face presented his phone screen to Sue with a quote on a google screen saying, “Aha there it is; Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Sue had a sad and gloomy face when she said, “But if you think of us Christians, we are definitely privileged by being granted the immunity that God grants us. And we know it, and know it too well. Then how can we develop assets to be humble, meek, merciful, even poor in spirit, and all the while know and feel privileged??”

Tom’s face was blank and with quite a puzzled look said, “Oh my dear Sue. This is one gooooood question.”

After a long and awkward pause, Sue contemplated; “I agree that to feel privileged definitely gives the feeling that I am special, which indeed does give me the feeling of pride.  And pride eventually leads to arrogance. The world views Christians as arrogant while we claim humility. No wonder the world says we are hypocrites.”

Sue’s demeanor started transforming from sad to energetic and optimistic, which infectiously made Tom’s face smile even before she said; “You know, I have a mission and it is not impossible at all. Every time I think of, or speak of what my Lord grants me, instead of feeling puffed up about it, I need to change the puffed attitude to a thankful attitude with a dose of humility. EVERY SINGLE TIME FROM NOW ON AND FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. Every time.”

That’s the only way to keep the privilege from permeating through me, rather keep it in front of me to admire and not to partake of. For it is not mine to show off, rather it is a tool to keep me humble. It is really and truly simple but it ain’t gonna be easy. Therefore I will practice and practice hard day in and day out. Are you up for the task?

 

I come to you my Lord and Creator thankful for Your LOVE and Your PRESENCE, and may I always be thankful for your PRESENCE above anything else.

(2 minute read)  Luke loves to work in the yard. The problem is he is allergic, very allergic, to poison ivy, poison oak and whatever poison plant there is. When he gets it, it spreads all over his body. It is excruciatingly annoying, aggravating and maddening. You feel like you want to scratch your skin raw, in reachable and unreachable areas alike. Luke found out that it is possible to prevent the agony. You may think this involves hiring someone to work the yard. No, not that. Luke realized that if he took the time, as soon as his yard work is complete, to cleanse his hands and arms, chances are he will not get the scratcheeees.

This cleansing process is meticulous and intentional. Luke stands over a deep sink. He uses a brush and soap. Slowly and methodically, go over all exposed surfaces. The hands take a bit of time, as he needs to carefully go over the crevices of the finger nail beds, the inside and outside surfaces of his fingers. If it was dirt it would be easy, but it is not. It is an unseen undetected oil of sorts that causes the reaction. Man o man, it takes work, dedication and intentionality to stand there and scrub, shed away and peel off this, this unseen thing.

Just as Luke is intentional in his actions, we too have to be intentional in shedding any

dislike – disagreement – disappointment –frustration – resentment  or downright hate

one might feel toward an outcome. Once there is an outcome, it is finished.

Life is too short to hang onto any hate of any sort. Shed it, peel it away and scrub it off. It takes work and intentionality, but is well worth it. Be meticulous and intentional in preparing yourself.

We all can practice this on Wednesday Nov 9^th as half of our country will resent, and downright hate the outcome of this election, regardless of who is the president-elect.

May God’s love strengthen each and every one, as well as replace any anger or frustration. May LOVE abound.

(2 minute read) George was recalling situations at his job. He was telling Stan, a colleague, how terrified he gets when things become ‘touch-n-go’ as he performed his tasks. Stan piped in, that he was the same way. How he could hear his heart beating so loud, that someone nearby may actually hear the sound of his heart pounding. Tim, sharing the table with George and Stan, also a colleague, leaned back in his chair laughing and nodding his head in agreement, as he too knew exactly how that felt.

The three were pretty loud and it was not hard to overhear their conversation. Someone on another table said, ”I think maybe these guys are firefighters, policemen,  doctors or something that makes your adrenaline pump as you do your job.”  If they heard the conversation between George, Stan and Tim before they entered the restaurant, they would have known their profession.

While in the car, Tim described to his buddies the importance of casing a joint before breaking-in to steal something, but even that sometimes is not enough. Tim recalled how he found an open back door to a residence. How he then looked through every window of the house, carefully. He detected a couple sleeping in their bedroom. He could not find children, and no pets were detected.

Tim circled back to the unlocked door, and entered the kitchen. To his surprise, by the time he circled back, the man of the house had woken up and was about to enter the kitchen. Right next to the door was the refrigerator. Tim pressed his body against the refrigerator, with his heart pounding, hoping he would somehow blend into the surroundings, and to his luck, the fridge blocked him from view. As the man of the house flicked the light on, the fridge moved, Tim catapulted off of the fridge opening the back door and fleeing for his life, as he heard a loud voice, “Come back you Cowaaaaaaaard.”

 

You see, Satan indeed is a thief and a coward. Do not fear Satan, as fear strengthens those that are trying to yield such fear. Satan uses one’s own desires, wants and wishes to have power over them. Therefore, continue to check on that back door and make sure it is locked. If the wind blows it open, close it shut one more time. Remind yourself that Satan is just a thief and indeed a coward and nothing but a weakling. Resist Satan and he will flee (James) as Tim tucked his tail between his legs and ran in response to the presence of the man of the house.

(a 3.5 minute read) Patrick and Sandy are cousins and were born six months apart. They lived close and grew up as best buddies. As creative and active as they were, they did get in trouble often. Their parents would find them doing this or doing that and they’d be grounded, in hopes they’d learn a lesson.

One time in particular, it was summer and they were spending a lot of time together. They were role playing. Patrick was a taxi driver and Sandy was his customer. The game of course was a pretend game. It got a bit boring and Patrick all of a sudden had an idea. He told Sandy, “I know where mom hides the keys to the T-bird in her bedroom.” Sandy jumped out of her chair, and with her eyes wide open said, “Let’s sneak into the bedroom and get them keys.” Patrick got a bit timid, “You know if they find out, we’ll be in a lot a lot a lot of trouble.” Sandy giggled and replied, “Let’s find them keys.” Patrick smiled and they both plotted their course of action.

Not only they got into the T-bird, which is a no-no, they actually drove it around the block. Needless to say, they were found out and they not only got grounded, they had to be chaperoned for an entire week.

This of course put a damper on whatever Patrick and Sandy wanted to do. Even talking among themselves is not the same in the presence of an adult. The stories they’d typically talk about, they could not talk about. How they talked about this person and that person, was definitely out of the question in the presence of an adult. It was just unbearable.

Half way during the 2^nd day, Patrick’s mom, sensing the tension in the air, approached them and said;

You guys make the assumption that a parent is all about rules, dos and don’ts. Like I am sitting hear holding a measuring stick and just watch and listen to everything you say and do and test it against this measuring stick. Pass…………Fail, is what you imagine I am thinking even I am not saying anything. Therefore, you would rather me not be in your presence.

Patrick’s mom positioned her chair to face them both, stretched out her arms and held one of each of the their hands, and leaning into them, smiled as she continued;

I want you both to know that nothing brings a parent more joy than to hear and watch their children giggle and laugh and enjoy themselves. You guys are older now. Imagine if you looked at me as a friend and not as a parent. Just imagine! What you do not know is that I, the mom, want to be your friend and not your parent. Yes, it is true! You know what that means? My presence amongst you is no longer a drag or something to be avoided, rather it would be desired, by me the parent as by you.

Somehow this rang a bell with Patrick and Sandy. The next couple of days were a blast for them all. The best was when Patrick came to his mom and said, “Hey mom, do you think we can take the T-bird around the block?” Mom put her hand on her chin pondering and thinking about it, “only if I am driving it and not you”, was her reply. The laughter was so loud in that room, you could hear it two houses down.

 

The same is TRUE with our Lord and Creator. If you and I spend more time experiencing the presence of the Lord in our daily life, the more at JOY and PEACE we are, as I am sure the more ECSTATIC our Lord is with the acknowledgement of that PRESENCE. It is simple but not easy, to continue to try and develop experiencing the Lord’s presence in our moment by moment life. But the outcome is this wonderful PEACE and JOY that fills you and me utterly and completely.

(a 3 minute read) Justin was reading a book on his favorite chair. Justin loved his chair as it was one of those over-sized types. It was comfortable, cozy and relaxing.  He could literally sit sideways if he wanted to. Justin was into a suspenseful part of his book when his granddaughter pulled the book and ran to the other end of the room. “Hey Ashley, that’s not nice. Why did you do that for?” Justin did not realize that Ashley has called “grandpa” like 3 times, but he was so into his book that he did not hear her calling.

Justin felt the frustration in Ashley’s voice. He pulled himself over to one side of his chair and motioned Ashley to join him. Ashley had pep in her step as she approached grandpa. Many a time these two would sit together and ponder questions that puzzled Ashley. She loved the times that she spent with her grandpa.

“I know you are here grandpa, but it is frustrating when I talk to you and it is like you’ve teleported somewhere and left your body here”, Ashley said as she chuckled. Justin laughed, then put one arm around Ashley and started to tell her a story about one of his journeys.

Remember when we visited the natural history museum when you were younger, and we stood in front of the Dinosaur skeleton and were just totally amazed by its size? Then we started to play this game that the dinosaur is alive and breathing. We’d run around and put our hands over our ears as its growling was deafening. Then hide behind some statues so the Dinosaur cannot find us.  Then we became a little daring. We’d go to the very tip of its tail and touch it and hide, then watch the Dinosaur’s head, which seemed to be two miles away, turn looking for what touched its tail. Ashley pitched in with a giggle, “and we did that over and over again, I remember”.

Imagine the air that we breathe as being one single entity, which actually it is. Imagine for example the head of ‘air’ in China and its tail in America. So the ‘air’ is present here and there at the same time. The ‘air’ knows what’s happening at its tail as it knows what is happening at its foot as it knows what is happening at its nose. You and I can play this game right now, right? And they both laughed out loud.

Well my dear Ashley, I was in desperate need to sense the presence of our Lord and Creator. I knew in my mind and in my heart that our Creator is always amongst us, always with every person, and that included me. But it is kind of hard to visualize, imagine and envision even the possibility of that. To be everywhere with everyone all at the same time is mind boggling. So now I use the ‘air’ that we breathe, as a tool to remind me with our Lord’s constant presence.

A simple intentional breath is now all I need to continually sense the Lord and Creator’s presence. May you my dear Ashley remember this story as a constant reminder that fills you with PEACE and JOY always and forever.

(a 3 minute read) Amy and Brett are a young couple with two children. Their two year old son is so adorable, you just want to scoop him off the floor and play with him non-stop. And if you thought their son is cute, you should see their 5 month old daughter. She is so cute and her legs, oh the folds in her legs make you think you are holding the baby in the Michelin tire commercial, and the clip-on bows that Amy places in her hair makes her even more delightfully lovable.

Amy serves in the military as part of the ground combat troops.  She has served in several tours, and each time has returned home safely. As proud as Amy is of her duty, each time she leaves to go on tour, there is a preparation period before her departure. The possibility of her dying in service of her country is tangible and palpable. Brett and Amy sit and talk about the possibility that she may not come back home. They both believe that it is best to have that discussion so that Amy knows how much Brett is proud of her serving their country. Both Brett and Amy know that if it was not for the people that offer their lives, to essentially protect their fellow citizens, their brothers and sisters, then their country is in peril and jeopardy. In spite of the possible consequences, not seeing her children grow up, graduate, marry and have their own children, this is a cause that is most worthy of all.

Brett has always been community minded, but more than talking about this problem or that issue in the community, he found ways to be involved, to try and make a difference. Brett was part of a collaboration effort addressing racial issues in their community. Violence was up, interactions between authorities and the community is in the news almost daily, and fingers pointed from one direction to the other and vice a versa.

Brett joined a neighborhood watch group that will patrol a gang infested town a few miles away from where they lived.  Amy was home from a tour just before Brett was to begin his patrolling duty.

You can imagine Amy’s reaction to what Brett is doing. This was not something Brett discussed over the internet with Amy. With the stress of combat, he was not about to lay on her what’s been happening in their community for the past 9 months. “You can be shot out there by some haphazard bullet”, Amy said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Think of our children growing up without their father, killed by some random violence act”, she said while she gazed into his eyes and sobbed.

Brett took a step closer to Amy, gently held her head between her hands and said, “Sweetheart, if I said I am going out there to defend our faith, you’d say ‘I love this man and send me off’. If I said I am going out there to join the navy to defend our country, you’d say ‘proud of my husband and send me off’. Without our community, we would have no country and we would have no faith. So I am going out there to defend our community. Do you see what I am saying?”

They hugged, held each other tight and sobbed. May God our Lord and Creator protect and provide, and may PEACE and JOY abound.

Peter was a successful CEO. Well respected & admired by the board of directors as well as the machine operators in his company. Peter was a tall and slender man, even if you did not know him, his aura demanded a certain respect.

He was known for his good spirits. Every chance Peter had, he’d be saying something that made the person in front of him smile.

It was time for a board meeting and all the board members were in the all glass conference room except for Peter. He was running late, which is very uncommon. “Here he comes”, a board member announced. Peter opened the door, stood to the side and motioned to what would be another person with him, but there was none there. A few board members exchanged befuddled looks. Meeting went well, decisions were made and everyone felt it was a productive meeting. All board members left and Peter was last. When he opened the big glass door to leave, he did the same thing as when he walked in. Two people were in the corridor and did noticed Peter’s behavior. They were puzzled but not alarmed.

More and more people noticed Peter’s door opening behavior, and it became the talk in the hallways. People were starting to think Peter’s gone crazy, but nothing else in his behavior was amiss. Coincidentally, the annual company meeting was on Friday, and Peter decided to share with people about his behavior so they can put their minds to rest.

“I know you all have been worried about my behavior. You may think I’ve gone crazy, but I hope I am not, at least not yet.” The hall filled with laughter and people were at ease. “You see, what I am doing is a personal habit I am trying to develop. Since many of you are wondering, I will share with you this personal routine. We all believe in something, and all my life I believe that our Creator, the one that made me, you and everything around us, is present with me at all times. Although I believe it, I find myself looking up in the sky around us when I am asking for something, or when I am saying thank you for something, or when I am searching for something.

Finally I said to myself, Enough. Enough telling people around me that the Creator is with us always, enough telling myself that my Creator is with me always, yet I look out into space basically, whenever I claim to be talking with the Creator. So you see, me opening the door the way I have been doing, is a simple reminder, a simple practice to personally be in touch with the fact that “The Creator” is along with me always and every step of the way, for it is true, at least to me it is. So please do not be alarmed by my behavior as it will continue, and I ask of you please do not report me to the loony bin, at least not yet.”

You should have been in the room when Peter concluded. The respect and admiration that people already had for him just grew bigger and it all exploded in this roar of clapping.

And may all the glory be to our Lord and Creator. PEACE and JOY with you always 🙂

The puppets live happily ever after for they do not know what exists beyond their stage. Sometimes the puppets argue, but only about the subjects that the puppeteer places on the stage for them to argue about.

If someone from the audience says something, the puppets will look out from their stage and pause. Can you see the puppets looking out, looking at each other, and then looking out again?

This pause is for the puppeteer to think. After the brief pause, the clever remark from the audience has been spun back into the stage story, and everyone laughs and enjoys the moment.

Do you ever feel that our life is like that?

Sometimes you hear a remark or an idea that is clever, honest, altering or down right revolutionary……………. A bit later you remember, and ask yourself’ “whatever happened to that idea?”

It seems like life sucks it out of existence.

Life is you and me and you and you. If  WE  do not keep something alive, the puppeteer wipes it away. Who is the puppeteer? It is whomever this “idea” threatens the most. (social, political, religious, economical, family, etc.……….)

I am asking YOU to be on the lookout for ideas that YOU believe are important and be intentional on keeping them ALIVE. Be the one that steps off the stage, the one that wades off the barrage of things that is keeping you on the stage. BE THE ONE WITH THE IDEA, regardless of who says “never, not ever, impossible, who do you think you are, …”

And remember, the puppeteer is just part of daily life and someone is always acting as the puppeteer. The point is not to eliminate, rather to keep the puppeteer(s) in check………….

Beware, maybe this writer is a puppeteer 🙂 so keep me in check.

My prayer is that the Creator’s PEACE and JOY be with you and sensed by you ALWAYS.

My condolences, prayers and support to the family, friends and all those affected by the tragic events in Orlando yesterday. Please know that prayers are lifted up for peace and love at this horrific time.

I direct my attention to my Christian community leaders throughout the United States.

Please consult the Bible and I am sure you will find that this is a time for showing compassion, love, support and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Orlando.

You, the Christian leadership, are my representative, and therefore it is my duty to let you know where I stand on this in the hopes that you would choose to represent me, a follower of Christ.

It is not too late to issue statements of prayer, love, encouragement and solidarity to our brothers and sisters and their families affected by this violent act.

Act now, please, and do not let your inaction speak louder than your words.