Christ

The Gift of Every Day
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The Gift of Every Day

So I am moving forward from therapy and rehabilitation and now preparing to head back to work. I have been blessed by doctors and nurses and house cleaners and my dog watchers and on and on. GOD reserved more than one person to help me. Every day the neighbors were saying how have I been doing. How are the dogs? How have I been motivated by so many nearby. I have had more smiles from people I share walking the dogs with.

Many people ask “Where is GOD”  because of Unorthodox Christianity. They can’t find GOD, or Jesus in their every day and I am supposed to know all about it. As I get a smile for the dog “Liberty” or give a treat to “Daisy” or have “Harry and Chloe” run up to me to share a treat that I get called the Candy Man can. It is the smile on a 3 year old when Mack or Jake smile with them. It is the smile of a mom and dad playing with their kids at the park. There isn’t enough space to write down all the smiles, all the concern, all the friends who started as neighbors and have become friends.

And then someone asks, “Just where is GOD”.

Times get tough. Tragedy stands at doors, in the weather, in the floods. “Where is GOD”. Of all the things we have happen in our lives to say, “Where is GOD”. I watch the news and can not see where GOD isn’t.

My surgeon, I found out, came to work on me on His Birthday, to be sure that the procedure was done in a timely manner rather than run a risk for having to wait until the surgery fit the schedule. It would have been very risky over a wait until the schedule was in my schedule. Every day the news reflects GOD in motion. Every day people are helping others, rescuing people through the floods, fires, and they wrap their arms around the ones whose family, friends, or neighbors to not make it here. Not for the sake of GOD or JESUS not being there at the right time. For the sake of GOD and JESUS are there helping the helpers. Not just a few who come home.GOD and JESUS are busy every day, and every where and every moment in every place are the helpers of GOD and JESUS.

A cohort at rehab asked me the other day just what will I do when rehab is over. I put it this way:

“For right now, for me, it is better to make some progress daily, then have no daily to experience at all.”

GOD and JESUS are everywhere. All the time. Some days life starts over for some in a new experience. Some days life is a gift of the every day. GOD and JESUS  know what life is. Don’t miss those who’s job it it is to care. NO one should question where GOD is or where JESUS just might be.They are so far beyond your capabilities do not measure them by who we think they are. Just look at the every day no matter where you are. GOD and JESUS are there. And they are doing just what they do always.

AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE ALL CAN SHARE THE GIFT OF THE EVERY DAY.

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Belonging

I believe we all have a need to belong. Whether a family, a city, a nation, a school, a group. Belonging is a very human need and it is difficult to comprehend “GOD” or similar as a group to belong to. As much as groups profess the ease with which such belonging is granted, until you can visibly and physically feel that sensory contact, belonging can seem pretty esoteric and too shallow to grasp. The key is what do you feel belonging to makes it so important to you. Sometimes our challenge is to understand how our choices affect not just our personal lives, but those of the people we interact with. Positive choices, and positive reactions can determine the success of the value that belonging to this or that provides.

Is your cup half empty or half full? As a proponent of unorthodoxy the box needs to be bigger and the assessment more honest. Do your choices put a smile on your face and warm your heart? Would you accept your behavior done to you as you behave toward others? Do unto others as you would have things done unto you will create an environment that fosters a sense of belonging that can offer positive results. Wisdom is the result of being honest with oneself, and open to change oneself when the opportunity is presented. Make no mistake, your positive outlook will not always be reflected by the crowd, be it one or many. The challenge to the unorthodox is to keep extending the hand.

How has change opened your door to a belonging environment? When you review your list of mentors, what examples of that mentorship have moved you to, in turn, mentor others in a similar manner. We impact everyone we come into contact with.

How have your contacts improved you.  We could also call these gifts. Have a great day.

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Requirements

My daily prayer starts like this:
The Lord is My Savior and my guide,
I shall have all that I require….  (a take off on the 23rd psalm).
 I never liked the idea that I shall have all I want. I might not do well with all I think I want.  I have always had a roof, I have always had food to eat and companionship. Anything else shows up for emergencies and goes away quickly but I always have all that I require.
You will also, this year, next year and thirty years from now because you have faith, hope and experience on your side. The end of the prayer: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Have a great day. dw
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Living With Hope

The teachings of Jesus emphasized hope to a people in a time of persecution. Whether it was political, physical or mental Jesus’ message was one of hope through hard times.
It is my desire that Unorthodox Christianity also carry that message to all of those who feel disenfranchised by a traditional church and reflect a Jesus that was giving a message for all those who followed and even came in contact with him, that hope is always available and can become a way of life. Too often we interpret the promise of Jesus is life after death. The reality is that the hope of Jesus was that this hope is yours to have every moment. Change in a world of a GOD who is LOVE, is accessible to all who are open to its possibilities.
When asked once about how he was going to celebrate his birthday, the Dalai Lama replied, “Why would I celebrate the birth of my sufferings day?” The message of Jesus is that the hope of Jesus is a message of the joys that are inherent and available to us every day of our living. Life is to be embraced, even when it seems as though the persecution is winning. Hope, as has been said, springs eternal.

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Watching for a ‘Sign’

Over my years within Christianity I have learned to ‘watch for the sign’. The sign that says that God is talking to you, that God has a plan, that the end is coming, that the signs of the times is imminent. Often we Christians come to rely on a sign from God to share with us the direction that God wishes to lead us in. The older and more experienced I have become I have been led to this caveat:  Be careful. The truly wise man learns to discern the ‘sign’ from God from a temptation of Satan. I think once in awhile we justify our activities based on a sign from GOD which is truly merely a temptation of our human nature. The bottom line question becomes does this direction serve God or merely myself.
Remember, you are the reflection of what you truly believe. To follow Christ remember that his lampstand was a cross and his light shown from a mountaintop called Calvary. It is more than just merely a group of people, it is your personal commitment to walk that path not always theirs.