The Other Side Of The Pulpit: 2014

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

First a blog! Now a book!

Here it is guys!!!! Finally, you can be a part of this blog being published as a book! Please help us make this happen!

http://www.gofundme.com/db235o

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The ice cream truck song is Donald Sterling's theme song

http://wp.me/p2Kqeo-16f

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ugly Truths About Modern Dating That You Have To Deal With

By CHRISTOPHER HUDSPETH

1. The person who cares less has all the power. Nobody wants to be the one who’s more interested.

2. Because we want to show how cavalier and blasé we can be to the other person, little psychological games like ‘Intentionally Take Hours Or Days To Text Back’ will happen. They aren’t fun.

3. A person being carefree because they have zero interest in you looks exactly like a person being carefree because they think you’re amazing & are making a conscious effort to play it cool. Good luck deciphering between the two

He is not texting back. Do you think he is waiting for something or busy or what?!

4. Making phone calls is a dying art. Chances are, most of your relationship’s communication will happen via text, which is the most detached, impersonal form of interaction. Get familiar with those emoticon options.

5. Set plans are dead. People have options and up-to-the-minute updates on their friends (or other potential romantic interests) whereabouts thanks to texts & social media. If you aren’t the top priority, your invitation to spend time will be given a “Maybe” or “I’ll let you know” and the deciding factor(s) will be if that person has offers more fun/interesting than you on the table.

6. Someone who hurt you isn’t automatically going to have bad karma. At least not in the immediate future. I know it only seems fair, but sometimes people cheat and betray and move on happily while the person they left is in shambles.

7. The only difference between your actions being romantic and creepy is how attractive the other person finds you. That’s it, that’s all.

8. “Let’s chill” & “Wanna hang out?” are vague phrases that likely mean “let’s hookup” — and while you probably hate receiving them, they’re the common way to invite someone to spend time these days, and appear to be here to stay.

9. Some people just want to hookup and if you’re seeking more than sex, they won’t tell you that they’re the wrong person for you. At least, not until after they score your prize. While human decency is ideal, honesty isn’t mandatory.

Related Thought
dating2
The Modern Dating Struggle
As embarrassing and preposterous as this is, people consider Facebook’s ‘In a relationship’ label to be the equivalent of an online wedding band.

10. The text message you sent went through. If they didn’t respond, it wasn’t because of malfunctioning phone carrier services.

11. So many people are scared of commitment and being official that they’ll remain in a label-free relationship, which blurs lines and only works until it doesn’t. I’ve said it many times before, I’ll say it again – “we’re just talking” is opening the door for cheating that technically wasn’t cheating because, hey, you weren’t together together.

12. Social media creates new temptations and opportunities to cheat. The private messaging and options for subtle flirtation (e.g. liking of pictures) aren’t an excuse or validation for cheating, but they certainly increase the chances of it happening.

13. Social media can also create the illusion of having options, which leads to people looking at Facebook as an attractive people menu instead of a means of keeping contact with friends & family.

14. You aren’t likely to see much of someone’s genuine, unfiltered self until you’re in an actual relationship with him or her. Generally people are scared that sincerely putting themselves out there will result in finding out that they’re too available, too anxious, too nerdy, too nice, too safe, too boring, not funny enough, not pretty enough, not some other person enough to be embraced.

15. Any person you get romantically involved with you’ll either wind up staying with forever or breaking up with them at some point. These are equally terrifying concepts.

16. When dating, instead of expressing how they feel directly to you, a person is more likely to post a Facebook status or Instagram a Tumblr-esque photo of a sunset with a quote or song lyric of someone else’s words on it, and while it may not mention your name, it’s blatantly directed at you.

17. There are plenty of people who’ll have zero respect for your relationship and if they want the person you’re with, they’ll have no qualms with trying to overstep boundaries to get to ‘em. Girl code and guy code are wishful thinking and human code isn’t embedded in everyone.

18. If you get dumped, it’s probably going to be pretty brutal. People can cut ties over the phone and avoid seeing the tears stream down your face or end things via text and avoid hearing the pain in your cracking voice and sniffling nose. Send a lengthy text and voilà, relationship over. The easy way out is far from the most considerate.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Missing my princess

Check out this video I made with Animoto: Princess AVA......the Love Of My Life - http://animoto.com/play/EpaxGbu30RFuuuARk3NcDw

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Abortion minus the rhetoric

As many of you know, I'm a preacher's kid. Both sides. Grandparents too. I get this conservative christian deal.

So I get it. I get how we can't support abortion in our personal lives. Seeing how that is the only life that we will answer to God for. What we do. I personally don't choose abortion as an option for my life or my family's. But I would never dictate to others what their choice should be. That's for God to do and I'm not Him.

I have an interesting question.
Let's just admit that if we make abortion illegal that it would not stop or stem the tide of abortion. The amount and methods of abortion will simply be unregulated. So backroom and back alley abortion clinics would become as common place as the boot leg dvd that works in every office.

My question is this: if we make abortion illegal....wouldn't we now have to arrest these women that would sought out such clinics? Wouldn't we now have to criminalize and send pregnant women to prison if caught before the act? Would we have to house and make inmates out of taxpaying doctors? (That's a lot of taxes) are we willing to pay the tax increases necessary to build these prisons? Pick up the slack that these doctors who won't be paying taxes anymore were paying before?

Who is going to adopt all the children we now legally require women to have instead of abort? With the conservative movement cutting entitlement programs at every corner....who is going to adopt these children when Americans can barely feed their own? Who can afford to adopt?

Just need to start the conversation.....I'm not saying whose wrong or right....but why are these questions asked when the abortion question is brought up. Comment below. Let's talk about it.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Purpose

Purpose: http://youtu.be/5XY_KIIs80Y

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Grace after it ends badly

Grace for men after the relationship ends badly: http://youtu.be/QYRJe7v13p8

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Show me your "nub"

Mark 3:1 "And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other"

I'm a southern boy. Born and raised in the segregated and still racially divided deep south. With that being said, we call things just like they are. No political correctness, no, as we often say "beating around the bush." We never described an amputee's infirmity as a "physical challenge"....a "handicap",...a reach deficiency. No, in the south....we called it a "nub". The amputee called it a nub. We called it a nub....and no one was offended. For the purposes of this article.....neither should you.
(My family will still call the amputated limb...a nub)

This speaks to the power of this verse. Today in the climate of political correctness and desperation to be sensitive to everyone's feelings....we have cultivated in the modern day church a tendency to treat our fellow parishioners like a first or second date. We do everything we can to show our best faces around those we actually call our "brothers or sisters in Christ".

Why then are they the ones we are consistently the most fake with?

"I'm not fake!" You go to work or your mothers house not really concerned if you have a bad hair day.....but you'll miss Sunday school to get your hair right. We'll keep the child out of wedlock on the down low claiming it's no one else business.....won't admit our lights are shut off to your "supposed" family. But I digress.

Notice the 5th verse. Jesus said "stretch out thine hand.."
He never asked for the good hand or the withered one.
If He had asked any of us....
We would've shown Him our good hand!

Why? Because we're more concerned with the damaging of our reputation by exposing our withered hand than discovering God's restoration!

When will we learn? His strength is made perfect through our weakness.

Here's your nugget: We would rather make temporary infirmity a chronic life long handicap by masking it in spiritual religiosity rather than being transparent enough to let God use our "nub" for a testimony.

We make a temporary illness intended for a testimony into a chronic handicap.....why?

PRIDE.

LET IT MARINATE FOLKS.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Infiltrate, Not Isolate

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. - (1 Peter 3:9)

Far too often it seems that Christians don’t want to have any contact with unbelievers. Maybe they don’t want to talk to them for fear of being polluted spiritually. But the church needs to infiltrate, not isolate. And to reach our culture, Christians must go where people are.

I am not saying that we should spend time around unbelievers and stay silent about our faith. We should speak up for Christ when the moment is right. At the very least, we should live a godly life as an example of what it is to follow Jesus Christ.

We see Jesus demonstrating this as He adapted His approach with the people He spoke to. With Nicodemus, who was powerful and affluent, Jesus told him that he must be born again (see John 3:1–17). With the immoral Samaritan woman, He reached out to her and engaged her in conversation (see John 4:1–26).

Before we can reach people, we first have to care. And I think one of the reasons we don’t share our faith more often is because we don’t care. We might think another person’s eternal destiny is their problem. If an unbeliever argues with us, we tend to think, Forget it then. I am going to heaven. You can go to hell if you want to. It is not my problem.

But actually, it is our problem, because they need someone to engage them. They need someone to share the gospel accurately with them. So we need to pray that God will give us a burden for people who do not yet know Him.

The great commentator Alexander MacLaren said, “You tell me the depth of a Christian’s compassion, and I will tell you the measure of his usefulness.”

How deep does your compassion go?

I believe these two pictures accurately describe the difference between the modern day church's focus and mission (we're persecuted)
And Jesus' mission and purpose on earth. (Seek and save the lost)

How can we follow someone and be so far off from his heart and purpose?

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Epiphany of the day

The biggest misconception of the 21st century church is that "church" is an event or a destination...when it is truly a personal identity.

Let it marinate, folks.

WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD HAVE LECRAE’S BACK

WRITTEN BY DAVID DANIE

Guess which rapper is unashamed to call himself a Christian, talks to God in his music, raps to change lives and his greatest critics are in his own demographic.

“That would be me,” laughed Lecrae.

The Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist suits this depiction perfectly. However, Rapzilla had another artist in mind to whom this description applies just as well: Machine Gun Kelly (MGK).

“I am a Christian,” the Bad Boy recording artist said before his Mar. 8th concert in Silver Springs, MD. “I’m a really God-fearing man. I make music about God. It’s just scary, that’s all, ‘cause my talks with God are a little more intense.”

Lecrae, familiar with MGK, had heard no evidence of faith in his music. The Reach Records rapper admitted he was shocked to hear the Cleveland-born rapper had claimed Christianity.

Lecrae is so unashamed of the gospel that he’s labeled as gospel while MGK admits he would never be mistaken for a “Christian rapper." Despite that difference, their life stories are stunningly similar.

Both MGK and Lecrae were raised in broken homes: Lecrae never met his father; when MGK was nine, his mother cheated on his father and abandoned them.

His depressed father failed to be the anchor MGK needed throughout a childhood plagued by bullying, homelessness and throat polyps, which nearly took away the one last thing he had—hip hop.

Both he and Lecrae turned to drugs, alcohol and women to numb their pain. Since then, they’ve both turned their own and—more importantly to them—others’ lives around.

“Because of [MGK], I'm gonna walk someday, because of his message,” said a disabled fan from his wheelchair in September of 2011. “’Cause I know he came from nothing, and I’m coming from nothing too.” That December, the fan walked across the stage into the artist’s arms.

Both MGK and Lecrae are heroes: their music changes lives.

Tragically, while Lecrae’s divinely-inspired music possesses the potential for eternal impact, as a spiritually confused artist, MGK is only capable of touching his fans’ earthly journey.

MGK is a wild boy, dividing his time between smoking weed and having sex. Richard Baker, the artist’s real name, knows there’s more to life, and his listeners can hear it in his lyrics.

“Save me Lord, save me Lord, what the (expletive) is this curse you gave me, Lord?” says MGK in the first verse of the track “Halo.” “Everybody think I finally made it Lord, but all I am is now is a slave, my God.”

He explained to Rapzilla that his song “Save Me” is a cry to God for help. Crying out to God, or at least praying to Him, isn’t a rare occurrence for MGK.

MGK (Machine Gun Kelly)

“We pray before every show,” he said. “We leave a lot of decisions up to Him.”

MGK claims he’s supportive of Christian hip hop. As a self-proclaimed Christian, he wasn’t aware of any reason for him not to “agree” with it, although he admitted that he hadn’t heard of a Christian rapper besides Lecrae.

“I’m a very God-fearing person,” said MGK. “God just knows my lights are a little bit darker maybe than the average Christian rapper.”

Lecrae got saved after a friend invited him to a Bible study. A friend like that has either not shown up in MGK’s life or has yet to make a visible impact. MGK is one of countless artists who are open to Christianity and could be one influence away from surrendering their life to Jesus.

“That’s exactly why I’m [in the mainstream],” said Lecrae. “The only reason why I’m there is to have influence and opportunity to share Christ with the people in that world—that’s it. And hopefully I can be that for the MGKs of the industry.”

The Christian hip-hop scene still doesn’t know what to make of the radical shift Lecrae has made in his music since his album “Rebel” to his more recent “Church Clothes,” rapping less about the gospel and more about relatable happenings from a Christian worldview. As a result, he’s been accused of selling out for money and fame.

Essentially , all he’s done is left the pulpit to be a missionary .

The importance of Christians in the mainstream can’t be understated because artists like Lecrae—and Sho Baraka, J.R., No Malice, Mali Music, Dee-1, S1 and others—are able to build relationships with rappers like MGK, Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T. and Tech N9ne who are open to Christianity. Those believers could ultimately be the one positive influence whom God uses to turn the religious willingness of those admittedly confused artists into relational willingness.

If MGK surrenders his life completely to Christ, hundreds of thousands of his fans outside of Lecrae’s target audience would be listening to a Christ-led artist, perhaps for a first time.

Don’t assume that Lecrae possesses a ploy to convert as many people as possible. This means much more than a spiritual roster.

“Everybody that I have relationships within the industry—I respect them and I never want them to feel like projects,” he said. “I never want them to feel like I’m leveraging their name or I’m only hanging out with them because they’re my project and, ‘I’m gonna get you saved buddy.’ I really do want them to know I genuinely care about them.”

Kendrick Lamar & Lecrae

Kendrick Lamar is one of Lecrae’s closest friends in the mainstream. Staying true to form, Lecrae refused to shed light on any spiritual growth that Lamar has had since they formed a relationship.

“The Lord does what the Lord does,” Lecrae said. “I wouldn’t dare trace anything back to me in terms of my conversations and dealings with [Lamar]. I’m just available and if the Lord sees fit to use me, praise God.”

Critics in the church will question the need for Lecrae to enter the mainstream. They’ll ask, can’t he build common ground with artists in the industry while still making pre-“Church Clothes” music?

Lecrae met Lamar, Don Cannon and Lupe Fiasco before “Church Clothes.” He knows it would be difficult to continue to build common ground with mainstream artists while still being labeled as a Christian artist.

“You do Christian hip hop? That means your music is for Christians. That’s what people think. I’m out here with them all the time—that's what they think,” said Lecrae, explaining why he’s been so adamant about avoiding the “Christian rapper” label. “As a missionary, I don’t want any hindrance.”

Monday, March 10, 2014

How resourceful are you

David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord,

'I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg You, take away the guilt of Your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.'" - 2 Samuel 24:10

It just seems to be human nature. As we grow in wealth and ability, our confidence moves from complete trust in the Lord to trust in our resources.

King David decided one day that he needed to know how many fighting men he had in his army. This was a grievous sin in the nation of Israel. God always made it clear to the nation that He, not their army, was their source. It was against the law of God to number the troops. David's general, Joab, knew the serious nature of such an action.

But Joab replied to the king,

"May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?" (2 Samuel 24:3)

Joab knew that David was treading in dangerous waters when he brought up the idea to him. But David had it in his mind that this is what he was going to do. And he did. The result: God judged David for this sin by smiting the nation with a plague that resulted in the loss of 70,000 lives.

Recently, I was having lunch with a former stockbroker who lost everything in the 1987 stock crash in the United States. He made an interesting comment.

"You cannot know how to fully trust the Lord in the financial area until you really have to. When I lost everything, I was forced to trust Him when I knew I could not pay my next bill unless God provided. This was the time I learned to trust God. I never had to trust God before I lost my money because I had plenty. We don't willingly enter this level of trust with God."

I, myself, have experienced this very same teaching moment with God. I went from a beachfront condo, BMW, more money than I could need, custom tailored suits every week.....monogrammed custom shirts...complete home recording studio....to being car-less, homeless, friend-less, jobless and hopeless. I lost everything including my fiancée 2 months before the wedding all back to back to back. All while serving in the church and heading the music ministry.

I wouldn't trade those very recent 2-3 years for anything in the world. I survived an attempted suicide and severe depression. I had no where to turn but God. Nowhere. After years of knowing about God....we really became family. He was no longer a deity, alpha and omega....the point of thousands of sermons I've heard.....not just my Savior who died for me.....He became MY DAD. The birthing of that relationship (not religion) destroyed all fear of anything, anyone, anywhere and anytime in my life. It's an incredibly liberating way of life that is beyond all description.

Ask God today to keep you from trusting in your own resources. Ask Him how to balance trust and blessing

Sunday, March 9, 2014

The reason why most christians will die poor

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1438441313050720&set=a.1436870036541181.1073741828.1436443646583820&type=1&relevant_count=1

Am I speaking braille?

http://wp.me/p2Kqeo-10Q

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Oculus is finally here

http://7figuredestiny.tumblr.com/post/78969779548/article-the-oculus-rift-will-battle-ps4-and-xbox-one

Friday, March 7, 2014

The plane is circling while you're still waiting on the runway

http://wp.me/p2Kqeo-10l

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Your past & present pain MUST equal your predestined purpose

"If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer." - 2 Corinthians 1:6

"God must love you a lot! He doesn't allow someone to go through the kinds of adversity you have experienced unless He has a special calling on your life." Those were the words said to me by two different mentors at two different times within a three-year period. Later I would learn another related truth from a respected man of God - a man who lives in another country, a man whom God uses throughout the globe. "The depth and width of your faith experiences are directly proportional to your calling." What were these men of God saying?

They were describing a process of preparation that God takes each of His leaders through when He plans to use them in significant ways. A "faith experience" is an event or "spiritual marker" in your life about which you can say, "That is where I saw God personally moving in my life." It is an unmistakable event in which God showed Himself personally to you. It was the burning bush for Moses; the crossing of the Red Sea or the Jordan River for the nation of Israel; Jacob's encounter with the angel. It was the feeding of the 5,000 for the disciples. It was the time when you saw God face to face in your life.

If God has plans of using you in the lives of many others, you can expect that He is going to allow certain faith experiences to come into your life in order to build a foundation that will be solid. That foundation is what you will be able to look back on to keep you faithful to Him in the times of testing. Each of us must have personal faith experiences in which we experience God personally so that we can move in faith to whatever He may call us. Do you need a personal faith experience right now in your life? Pray that God will reveal Himself to you. He delights in doing that.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Is being moral enough?

I recently heard someone use the phrase “moral Christianity” to describe what they believe is the current temperature of faith in America, and it grieved me. Moral Christianity points people toward godly—or moral—answers without pointing them toward God. It shows people how to live by good rules without showing them how to be disciples of the Good Shepherd.

Don’t misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong with teaching others to live by godly principles. After all, God’s Word is an instructional manual for a successful, godly life. It’s a light for one’s path (Psalm 119:105). But there is something wrong with teaching “moral, do-good Christianity” without showing others how to connect with the Savior. If we simply do what’s right without being disciples of the Author of Life, we may look more like the unbelieving Jews than the disciples.

I’m sharing this because lately I have been convicted about this, I have been asking myself, does what i share cause others to want Jesus, not just want to do the right things or have a better life so they can be more comfortable?

If I only offer up moral Christianity without pointing you to Christ, what good am I honestly doing?

In John 5:39-40 Jesus said to the Jews . . .

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

Knowing truth and knowing the Author of Truth are two entirely different things—and only one of them leads to the life we desperately need.

At the end of January, during a quiet moment with the Lord, I scrawled these thoughts, which I believe He gave me, in my journal.

Knowing the right answers will not transform you. Going to church alone will not transform you. Being religious and even memorizing Scripture will not transform you. Only being in right relationship with me while you experience these things will transform you. The Jews in the New Testament knew the answers, but they didn’t know Me. They did not have a love relationship with Me, therefore their hearts remained unchanged. Knowledge of the truth alone cannot transform. It’s My love working together with truth that transforms.

People who are experiencing war overseas, divorce in the United States, and death in their families don’t need to know just good principles without knowing the Prince of Peace. They don’t need to know how to live unless they know the One who gave them life. To give them truth without pointing them to The Truth is dishonoring to the Lord—and offering a balm to the wounded that does not heal.

So what does this have to do with you? A lot, actually. Just like me, you are preaching a sermon with your life. You may not be standing in a pulpit or putting words on a page. But every day, you are a witness for the Lord. Will you only show others what it means to be a moral Christian—or will you demonstrate what it looks like to intimately walk with the Savior?

Monday, March 3, 2014

The lore of the lorax

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells."
-- Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991)

One of the qualities that make fairy tales and nursery rhymes so resonant is the fact that we cannot get them out of our minds. Sometimes this is because a story is particularly vivid or poignant, sometimes because a rhyme, over its history, has become progressively better crafted and thus easy to remember. We are especially sensitive (or vulnerable) to the rhetoric of wordplay in our toddler years, and that is why we are full of rhymes that seem to have no particular meaning except that we memorized them at a time when our brains were literally hungry to acquire language and rhythm. When we’re in groups and can’t find a song whose lyrics everyone knows -- even as adults -- we sometimes resort to chants like "Row, row, row your boat" (or inane songs we’ve acquired through sheer repetition, like the theme from popular TV shows like Gilligan’s Island).

In many cases, the rhetorical value of "children’s" rhymes is lost to us because their historical context has passed. For example, we generally don’t think of the Black Plague when we play "Ring Around the Rosie," and we don’t think of the political allegory underlying "Jack and Jill" (even though Jack explicitly breaks his crown). Even things we don’t like become part of popular culture and then folklore; think of those silly commercial jingles and the hateful tunes you can’t get out of your head (all the more perplexing because your very need to purge them causes you to replay them, and thus commit them even further into memory).

So when someone like Dr. Seuss comes along, he becomes culturally ubiquitous because his works bring together all the elements that make folklore indelible in our consciousness. I have yet to meet a literate English speaker who doesn’t have some clear memory of a Dr. Seuss book. In fact, most of those who recall their initial engagement with Seuss will describe it as an especially memorable or even formative reading experience. In the same way that Charles Dickens has become an integral part of English language culture through our use of the name "Scrooge" from A Christmas Carol, Seuss has entered the cultural dictionary with "Grinch." These days (particularly after the film adaptation), one is actually more likely to be criticized for being a Grinch than for being a Scrooge.

Among Seuss’s forty-four books, many of them radical in their time, the one that has received the most attention in recent years is The Lorax, which was the center of some unexpected controversy in the American Northwest.

The Lorax is one of Dr. Seuss’ explicitly rhetorical books, one that he himself classified as "propaganda." It is a classic cautionary fable structured around a flashback narrated by the villain, the capitalist Once-ler, to a nameless young boy who has come to the Once-ler’s dilapidated Lerkim to hear the tale. The story is set in a dark, murky, post apocalyptic landscape caused by the Once-ler’s wholesale exploitation of the ecosystem, which was supported in a former time by Truffula trees. As the faceless Once-ler tells his tale through a "snergelly hose," we flash back to the old days, when the land was a bright paradise of multicolored Truffula trees and happy Swomee Swans, Bar-ba-loots, and Humming-Fish. The Once-ler arrives in a covered wagon reminiscent of those during the American frontier days. Like a pioneer, he is out to better his life, but he is not the homesteading pioneer as we might expect; he is more the 49er, and he strikes it rich when he discovers the profitability of the first Truffula tree, whose tuft he knits into a Thneed. With what might be termed classic Yankee ingenuity, the Once-ler devises ways of processing more and more Truffula trees at a steadily increasing pace, "biggering and biggering" his manufacturing operation until he has turned the formerly Edenic paradise into a landscape of industrial blight with polluted water, polluted air, and a sunless panorama of Truffula stumps.

All of the Lorax’s interventions are for naught, and when the last tree falls, he is mysteriously "lifted away" into a hole in the dark clouds. And as the young boy discovers, it is only after it is too late that the Once-ler learns his lesson. At the end of the tale, the Once-ler drops down a single remaining Truffula seed, the seed of hope at the bottom of the capitalist Pandora’s box.

The rhetoric of the story’s surface requires no explication -- its moral is explicit and self-contained. So much so, in fact, that some readers respond to the motif of the tree cutting and forget that that particular form of exploitation is part of the underlying theme, which Seuss characterized as "antipollution and antigreed," not merely anti-logging.

But there’s something special about The Lorax’s rhetoric. With the figure of the "smallish" and strangely ineffectual, paternal Lorax, Seuss evokes a powerful sense of pathos, nostalgia, and guilt -- which is probably why proponents of the timber industry have tried to ban the book in at least three states. According to Gary Ball, in an article in the newsletter available on the Mendocino Environmental Center's Web site, some pro-logging and anti-environmental groups like those associated with the deceptively named Wise Use Movement (WUM) "have even gone to the extreme of creating a community uproar in order to ban . . . The Lorax, from elementary schools' reading lists. Led by the owners of Baily's, the logger equipment merchants . . . WUM adherents packed a number of heated school board meetings resulting in The Lorax being removed from the mandatory reading list in public schools."

In 1991, 20 years after its publication, the hardwood industry responded to The Lorax in kind with a pro-logging book called Truax, in which the hero is a friendly and even-tempered lumber man who explains the virtues of logging to a hysterical figure called the Guardbark. The Guardbark is meant not only to represent the Lorax, but what the timber industry considers the irrational rhetoric of environmentalism in general. He's depicted as a bucktoothed cross between the Green Man and the Jolly Green Giant, and since he is none-too-intelligent, he is easily swayed by the calm Truax's pro-logging lecture. Though it does not qualify as what folklorists term "fakelore," and is clearly a response to what the industry believes a threat, the logic behind Truax is reminiscent of what happened in the mid-1900s when W. B. Laughead appropriated and adapted some logging lore to promote the Red River Lumber Company of Minnesota. We all know the result: those fabricated tall tales about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

It’s probably clear from what I’ve discussed above why The Lorax would evoke a strong response from the timber industry, but there is far more going on in the book than meets the casually analytic eye. There’s something weirdly familiar about The Lorax, something especially odd, simultaneously cathartic and irking about the dramatic arc of the story. It sticks with readers at many different levels in the same way that a good parable sticks with us and survives repeated reflection as we become progressively older and (we hope) wiser.

2. Theodor Seuss Geisel

Before he was Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel was a failed novelist. He was an English major, and he studied at Oxford (one of his professors was the eminent Emile Logouis, a specialist on the work of Jonathan Swift, author of works like "A Modest Proposal" and Gulliver's Travels). He studied the psychology of advertising, and in his Botany and Zoology classes he amused himself by manipulating the Latin names for plants and animals. Seuss admitted that his study of Latin, particularly the insights it provided into the etymology and construction of words, was a great influence on his writing.

In the mid-1920s, Seuss lived for a time in Paris, where the likes of Hemingway, Joyce, and Stein -- writers who would forever change the face of literature with their innovations -- were establishing themselves. Seuss’s later writing uses many of the same literary techniques.

Before World War II, Seuss had already earned a name for himself with the wildly successful advertising campaign for the insecticide called "Flit," making the phrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" part of popular culture. Seuss drew liberal political cartoons during World War II; he also made documentaries and propaganda films under Frank Capra while he served in the Signal Corps.

In later interviews, Seuss was always quite honest about his rhetorical intentions. He referred directly to the influence of writers like Belloc, Swift, and Voltaire, and did not hesitate to refer to his own radical and revolutionary ideas. "I’m subversive as hell!" he once declared. He said of his Cat in the Hat: "It’s revolutionary in that it goes as far as Kerensky and then stops. It doesn’t go quite as far as Lenin." Seuss was a writer fully aware of his political and rhetorical intentions (much like George Orwell, whose Animal Farm is often read in elementary schools), and he crafted his literary tools to most effectively deliver his charged messages.

The verse style for which Seuss's work is famous is called anapestic tetrameter. Seuss folklore explains his fascination with this meter as the influence of the rhythm of the diesel engine in the ship he took home from Europe, but he also singled out Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as a literary influence. Goethe's "The Erl-King" (narrated from the point of view of a child who is being kidnapped by the King of Elves) is written in anapestic tetrameter. There are English writers who also used this meter, one of the most memorable being Lord Byron, who wrote "The Destruction of Sennacherib." The best-known example of anapestic tetrameter in American culture is, of course, "The Night Before Christmas" (which we cannot help but associate with the Grinch these days).

Goethe is known for saying that there is a genius in every child and a child in every genius. Seuss, as we know, had decided to "be a child" all his life and explained his own creativity by describing it as the "insane logic" of a child. Goethe is an interesting connection for Seuss because of this similar attitude toward childhood consciousness, but this link is especially relevant to my reading because Goethe's most renowned work happens to be Faust, whose protagonist is an Alchemist.

3. Anagram Alchemy

Recently, while I was pursuing my own suspicions about the hidden religious meaning of "I AM SAM / SAM I AM" in Green Eggs and Ham, I ran across an essay by Darren McGovern called "Green Eggs and So’Ham: A Qabalistic Interpretation of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham." McGovern’s essay is -- almost by necessity -- rather tongue-in-cheek, especially toward its conclusion where his reading takes on the frenetic quality of a rant. But he begins by introducing a serious consideration, which happens to be an authentic part of some spiritual traditions: "Unlocking the (imaginary?) hidden meanings within nonsense can automatically set one to thinking of the mysteries. This, done with discipline, can lead to deep contemplation of Holy things and God Himself and that is the true path to illumination." Referring to the methodologies of the Qabalah [Kabbalah] and the Hermetic tradition, McGovern goes on to say that "By deciphering the meaning between the lines, the roots of words, the correspondence on the Tree of Life, and connections to myths, we can invoke the truth that lies hidden. . . . Distilling the information to extract the ‘gold’ from the original matter is an alchemical transformation operation."

McGovern's claim is not as outrageous as it first seems, and his essay just scratches the surface of the analytic potential that a Hermetic/Kabbalistic reading of Dr. Seuss offers. In fact, it is precisely this approach that reveals the true nature of Seuss's genius and explains why works like The Lorax are so profoundly resonant with his readers.

What Seuss uses is a complex interweaving of symbolism and anagrams, relying both on the appearance of the text and its sound, to carry a range of potential meanings that all serve to amplify the overarching theme of the work. This is generally true of Green Eggs and Ham and many other Seuss works, but applied with true genius in The Lorax.

Let me begin with a reading that will seem, at first, to be outrageous, and then show how it is a very rational reading in keeping with both the rhetoric of The Lorax as a fable and the underlying alchemical and Kabbalistic techniques used by Dr. Seuss. (If you doubt the degree to which he used anagrams, keep in mind that he also wrote under the identity of "Theo LeSeig," which is a condensation and rearrangement of "Theodor Geisel.")

Everyone who has read the book recalls the declaration: "I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees." Since he is the guardian of the trees and the critic of the Once-ler, whose transgression is to chop them all down, it is not accidental that the Lorax’s name sounds vaguely like "lower axe" in English. This is where most scholarly readers stop their analysis because it appears to be a fully adequate explication in keeping with underlying moral of the story. But Dr. Seuss’s construction of names is highly sophisticated if we bother to look more deeply. The sound value of "Lorax" is a red herring that allows adult readers to resonate with deeper underlying messages within the story once they have uncovered one of its upper layers. To do justice to Dr. Seuss, we must look at the name letter-by-letter.

L O R A X is an anagram that breaks down into three symbolic clusters: AO, RX, and L. AO represents Alpha and Omega (O -- Omnicron -- here is a substitute for W -- Omega -- in keeping with the transformation of the Greek to Roman alphabets). These two letters, as we know, symbolize Christ, who said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega." RX (as I discuss in my column on the Caduceus), is usually taken to mean "prescription" as in the pharmacist’s symbol, but it actually comes from another transformation of Greek to Roman alphabets; the R and X represent Rho and Chi, which in the Greek alphabet are P and X. Chi and Rho are the first two letters in Christos, or Christ. The X written over the P is the typical Chiro recognized as the symbol for Christ.

A look at Nigel Pennick’s Magical Alphabets shows how the L in LORAX is not an extra letter (or an article), but rather another condensation of the Christ symbol in conjunction with the theme of protecting trees. The Roman L is equivalent to the Greek Lambda, which, Pennick notes, "is connected with plant growth and the mathematical progressions associated with the figure in classical geometry, upon whose principles organic growth proceeds. It is linked mystically with the geometric ratio known as the Golden Section. As the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, Lambda represents the ascent to a higher level." The Lorax, of course, is the protector of the trees, whose growth would be associated with the Golden Section (also known as the Golden Mean); when all the Truffula trees are gone, the Lorax is "lifted away," ascending to some mysterious higher place.

The Roman L and Greek Lambda are equivalent to the Hebrew Lamed, and Pennick's entry for that letter is also quite interesting: "Lamed is the directed energy that one requires to initiate any action, and the sacrifices that one must inevitably incur in the process. The esoteric significance of Lamed is thus 'sacrifice.'" This is not only in keeping with all of the Christ associations I've pointed out above, since Christ is also the sacrificial Lamb(da) of God -- it also explains the page on which the Lorax first appears, pulling himself out of the first Truffula stump in a burst of multicolored energy as an axe falls away to the ground.

The word TRUFFULA also breaks down into several phonetic anagrams of which "True Alpha" (TRU ALFFU, the U sound being like the neutral schwa sound like the E in the ER ending) and "fulla fruit" (FULA FRUT, i.e., "full of fruit") are the most relevant. Since it is literally the Tree of Life in the story (Seuss capitalizes the T in Tree), the fact that the Truffula Tree contains seeds of its own destruction, the "fatal fur" (FATUL FUR) of its tufts and the "future fall" (FUTUR FAL) of the Truffula paradise is especially ironic.

The three kinds of animals who depend on the Truffula Trees seem, at first, to bear cute, nonsensical names, but all of them are laden with meaning both through symbolism and anagramming. Swomee Swan rearranges into the phrase, "As men we sow" (a contrast to the Once-ler’s greedy reaping of the trees). It also becomes "Woe’s-me Swan," suggesting the lamentation of the swans’ departure; this anagram is especially poignant coupled with the symbolic meaning of the swan, whose dying lament (the source of the term "swan song") was associated with Christ’s dying breath on the cross.

The Humming-Fish are somewhat easier to figure out because one need only condense the "Humming" into "humin’" ("human") to see that they are also a Christ symbol. Christ was a man associated with the symbol of the fish, thus a "human fish."

Finally, the Brown Bar-ba-loots are also linked both to the anti-logging rhetoric, by anagramming into the phrase, "Ban blows to arbor," and to the crucifixion narrative: "Barab’s loot." Barabas the thief was let go by popular vote when Christ was condemned to the cross. The prefix "barba" also means "bearded," linking the Lorax and Christ through their appearance, not only their ascension, and "barb" suggests the crown of thorns.

The Once-ler’s name, the weird "Snuvv," the "Lerkim," and the "snergelly hose" all resonate with the same Alchemical and Kabbalistic logic. A full explication of The Lorax would take its own book, so let it suffice for this essay to point out that the "Thneed," which is what the Once-ler makes out of the Truffula Trees, is "The End."

So "What was the Lorax? And why was it there?" The answer is that despite his disavowal of interest in any particular organized religion, Dr. Seuss drew on the deep structures of esoteric Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to present us with a parable about The Fall and the potential of redemption. We need only perceive more carefully with the "insane logic" of children and mystics. The last Truffula seed is the Philosopher’s Stone, which has the potential to transform the crass gold of greed into the true gold of enlightenment. From the Good Dr. Seuss, it is not an especially expensive prescription, or, for that matter, a hard pill to swallow

Friday, February 28, 2014

What are you waiting for

http://7figuredestiny.tumblr.com/post/78113308355/watch-waiting-for-what-on-youtube

Why Those Who Help You Plant a Church Leave So Early

By Dave Page

I had a dream of having friends I started the church with go the distance with me serving as ministry partners for forty years and then riding together off into the sunset much like Billy Graham has done with Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea. It didn’t happen.

Here’s what I know: Those who start the journey with you seldom finish with you. In the church planting world I call this principle THE LAW OF SCAFFOLDING. The people you start the church with are not the people you grow the church with. This is one of the hardest lessons I had to learn as a church planter. I am a highly relational person – a people person. I enjoy people and working together as a team to see changed lives. It was emotionally painful for me anytime somebody left the church. However, part of the process of growth was learning the law of scaffolding.

In the late 1800’s Missiologist John Nevius once referred to missionaries to China as “scaffolds” to be removed when the building was established. Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings. It must eventually be dismantled and removed from the building.

In church planting scaffolding refers to believers in the core group that God uses to help build the early structure of the church body. They are compelled by a vision of starting something new from scratch. Most of them are early members of the new church that transferred in from other local churches to help get the church off the ground. Once the church grows and becomes sustainable these pioneers normally move on to do it again somewhere else.

SWAT (Servants Willing and Temporary) workers are a unique type of scaffolding. SWAT workers are believers on loan from other churches in the area who help serve on a temporary basis, usually just at the monthly preview services and at the grand opening. After the church starts they return to their own church.

I ended up starting three churches so I went through this process multiple times. I learned to prepare for it after the first experience and how to better deal with it. Here are three lessons I learned that I hope will help you on your journey:

Don’t Beat Yourself Up When People Leave

Whenever people left our church I took it personally. I thought it was a reflection on my leadership ability and maybe it was but I needed to learn to not beat myself up when people left. Early on I tried to hold onto people and even begged one person not to leave. I learned it is better to bless people as they go. You can’t effectively lead those who don’t want to be on your team. Move with the movers and trust God to lead those who leave to a church where they fit better.

Don’t Believe The Fallacy That Good People Can’t Be Replaced

Whenever a key player would leave my team I would panic. Who is going to replace this star player? In the beginning I thought nobody could replace them. Some of the hardest losses were people who were tithers. Not only did the church lose the service of these gifted people but it also took a hit financially. I needed to change my perspective from one of scarcity to abundance. I needed to increase my faith and believe God could and would replace those who left. I learned that there are good people all around me and saw God replace what I thought was irreplaceable.

Do Appreciate Those Who Were Briefly With You

The wise sage Solomon said, “There is a season for everything, and a time for every event under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There is a season when a unique person is needed to help the leader succeed. This is especially true at the beginning of a church plant. God brings highly skilled people to help the church get to the next level that would not have been possible without them. These people travel with the leader for just a season and then move on. I learned to let them go gracefully. I realized that some of them needed to play that role for other leaders.

It’s never any fun seeing people leave for whatever reason. It hurts. I miss many of them. I hope they miss me too. I never want to get to a point where it doesn’t hurt. The good news is some people will stay! And for that I am extremely grateful. These people will charge hell with you with a squirt gun! Celebrate these people. Love these people. Appreciate these people. Reward these people. Treasure these people. They will always have a special place in my heart.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Get out of the boat

http://wp.me/p2Kqeo-Z6

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Circles of influence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWL_CBkt5rE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Just saying.....the "this country was founded on Biblical beliefs" argument is looking pretty flimsy

THE 4 LEGS OF MARRIAGE

THE 4 LEGS OF MARRIAGE

By Mark Driscoll

The next time you sit in a chair with four legs, consider how unstable it would be with only one, two, or three legs.

Marriage is like that. For a marriage to be stable, secure, and solid, it needs four legs. Anything less, and the marriage starts to fall over and crash.

Grace and I are very honored and excited to be teaching at the Real Marriage event tonight and tomorrow. We don’t pretend to have gotten it all right the first time, but we do find great joy in helping both singles and couples prepare for married life.

For a marriage to be stable, secure, and solid, it needs four legs.

Over the years, we’ve done a number of marriage events, but with five kids, a church, and the demands of life we just cannot spend much time away from home, even though we want to help as many people as we can. Subsequently, we are thankful for the opportunity that technology provides to serve people in any place from one place.

In addition to fielding live questions during the event from people joining us live and online, we will be teaching four sessions, talking about couples as worshipers, lovers, friends, and legacy-makers. These are the four proverbial legs on the chair.

1. WORSHIPERS

The foundation of everything, including marriage, is worship. It cannot be overstated how vital it is that a couple approaching marriage or in marriage worship God together, because your marriage exists ultimately for God’s glory.

However, Satan attacks marriage and has since the beginning. In fact, the Bible opens with a wedding and quickly moves to a war, as Satan did not even show up until after our first parents were married. The reason that Satan so hates Christian marriage is because it is supposed to be a reflection of the gospel, since Jesus loves the church like a groom loves his bride. However, when the Enemy shows up, it is not uncommon for a couple to forget his work and think that their spouse is their enemy, rather than remembering that their spouse is their ally in a war against their Enemy.

The foundation of everything, including marriage, is worship.

Because we both are worshipers and sinners, we are prone to be idolaters. When this happens, a good thing (like marriage or a spouse) becomes a god thing, which is a bad thing. Marriage is not heaven. Your spouse is not your savior. And if the glory goes to the husband or the wife instead of Jesus, it will crush them, because it is too heavy to endure.

On a scale of 1–10, how are you and your spouse or fiancé as worshipers?

2. LOVERS

Before sin entered the world, there was sex. It was without sin and without shame (Gen. 2:18–25). In God’s design, marriage is for one man and one woman. And your standard of beauty is supposed to be your spouse, which helps safeguard against coveting, lusting, and adulterating.

Once sin enters the world, sex is prone to be seen as a god or gross.

Those who see sex as a god are consumed by it, addicted to it, and ruled by it. Pornography is fuel for this forest fire that is burning down marriages at an unprecedented rate. Sex as God is dominant in the world.

Marriage is not heaven. Your spouse is not your savior.

Those who see sex as gross are often thinking about how gross “sex as god” is, but they forget sex as the real God intended it and redeemed it. Sex as gross is dominant in the church.

The answer to sex as god or gross is to see sex as a gift (1 Cor. 7:3–5). God gives us this gift for a variety of reasons, including pleasure, children, knowledge, protection, comfort, and oneness.

On a scale of 1–10, how are you and your spouse as lovers?

3. FRIENDS

To say that God is Trinitarian is to say that God is a Friend who has Friends. To say that we were made in God’s image is to say that we were made to be a friend and have friends. This is why, even though sin had not yet entered the world, God said it was not good for us to be alone (Gen. 2:18). His answer for our loneliness was a friend called a spouse.

This concept is almost entirely missing in every one of the 187 marriage books that Grace and I opened in preparation for writingReal Marriage. However, we believe that friendship is incredibly vital to marriage. This concept of friendship, and what it is and is not, has transformed our marriage. We often stress to our children, singles in our church, and married couples we know that friendship with your spouse (or potential spouse) is absolutely essential. A friendship is like a garden: it has to be planted, tended, nourished, and weeded for it to be fruitful and alive.

On a scale of 1–10, how are you and your spouse or fiancé as friends?

4. LEGACY-MAKERS

The first day of marriage is incredibly important. But the last day of marriage is the most important.

Will you still be married? Will you be friends? Will you look back on your life with your spouse smiling or weeping?

Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children” (NIV). What kind of legacy will you leave maritally, spiritually, and financially? Do you have a plan to leave a godly legacy?

A friendship is like a garden: it has to be planted, tended, nourished, and weeded for it to be fruitful and alive.

There are days in every marriage where we are ready to throw our hands in the air, throw our towel in the ring, and throw wisdom to the side. On those days when folly is near, we need to keep wisdom on our horizon and keep walking toward the future that God has given us a vision for.

On a scale of 1–10, how are you and your spouse or fiancé as legacy-makers?

Monday, February 24, 2014

Wise words from wisest woman I know. By grandmother

A Prepared Place for a Prepared People by Susan Spann http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CLWV6JE/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_R82ctb1VJ3C9P

More the a musician. ..

It's been a long road. But I'm so ecstatic to say I finally out of the mold. Broken free. I've always known my capacity and purpose....but I'm able to be respected and valued for the business acumen God has blessed me with more than the notes I play.
I've heard often of musicians feeling as though they were just an "organ monkey". I never gave much credence to the stance. Until the last 12 years. It is cool to be thought of as a decent or at least an average musician....but if that's all you ever are....is that really enough for you? Never was for me. Music is and has always been a passion but only a stepping stone to more meaningful pursuits.

What has been the most difficult is the scores of people that will never see me as anything but an "organ monkey".

I encourage you to never let others define your level of ascension. Never let what others perception of what you have to offer dictate what you give. Never take the price tag others hang on you as your actual value you assign to yourself. Others may see your capabilities limited at the most menial of tasks.....never let that stop you from seeing who you really are....destined for a life of significance....a life that matters......now go and live that out.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Capacity

Maximum capacity....

Exactly what is our capacity? Have you ever felt like you've had "enough"? When everyone else seems to be happy with life as it is? A ever growing rumble of discontentment? Not sure why because everyone says you are fortunate? But itlike it's all just stale? Feel as if you're settling? Everyone says you should be thankful and you're being ungrateful. Could be your job, your relationship, your marriage, your church, your friendships....even your house or city you live in.

I'm going to be transparent about my own experience. For this purpose you should know I am not religious but I am in a relationship with God. I am not a christian by choice....I am a disciple of His by destiny. So do understand there will not be religious rhetoric but I will refer to the way my life is governed by His principles. (No worries if this confuses you. Most christians don't get it either.)

I've always known that I was meant for more. To make a difference in millions of lives. Although never encouraged as a child by a bitter single mom, my grandmother encouraged my big dreams. But with every accomplishment and every misstep...I knew there was more. I found purpose as a minister of minister for several ministries in my lifetime. Unfortunately I have discovered that with every ministry I have been blessed to be a part of, there has always been an overwhelming tendency of those working with me to assume that I had arrived to stay. I tend to believe that most in ministry, instead of seeing people with gifts and talents as trees to be cultivated, grown, and sent out to replicate.....they see them as wood to be cut down to build up their vision and dreams.

Here's a little nugget: If the departure of any one person would cause any discomfort in your business, church or organization....you have placed too much weight on that one beam. They should never be a load bearing wall....but a tree in a forest of flourishing people....providing shade and fruit.

But I disgress, I have been on this road of uncommon destiny for a decade now. I'm used to not being understood. The unrest in my belly has been building for 15 years. Its to the point that I can't physically stomach mediocrity. I prefer not to have any conversations with the small minded. It feels as if I'm dishonoring the minutes of life God gives me by wasting it with those that choose to remain superficial. I'm of two minds about it all. I recognize that I must extend grace to those that don't quite "get it" yet because there's a whole heap of things I don't "get" yet. But where is the point where you start sacrificing your purpose, destiny and dreams to stay stuck in the mediocre crap heap that everyone else seems perfectly happy to wallow in? God plainly said to me, "Enough is enough...time to move and stop being their crutch." So I did.

The Bible says in Joshua 24:15 (KJV)

15 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

The generally accepted interpretation of this scripture is "choose between the devil and God". But that's the lazy interpretation of someone who doesn't want to be accountable for their own life. "gods" is lowercase because people serve all sorts of gods. Including christians. I will not serve anyone else's "god" of interpretation of what "church" looks like. I will not serve a denomination. I will not serve theology. I will not serve popularity. Not a hot band. Not having a great sounding praise team. Or a hype service. Nor emotional junkies. All "gods". Whether we want to admit it or not.....they are. I will not serve the god of fundraising.

Quite simply, how can I claim to serve the all powerful God, claim special access to Him, say I am an overcome (as a black man and a christian); say I am made in the likeness of a God of abundance and live in abject poverty (less than 60k a year) and a life of insignificance? And be surrounded by people who actually think that's ok? I cant. I wont. Not any longer. I can't look my daughters in the eyes and expect any better of their future husbands. Any one with any common sense can't do the same....not honestly.

I've been blessed to acquire relationships with people that share my discomfort with the ordinary. I am so excited to move into the unknown with them. I love those I've had to disconnect from. But they've made their decision by their actions. I will always have an extended hand to help them up. But I will not help decorate a house built in the squallor of mediocrity.

I refuse. I will not disappoint God by misrepresenting Him. He is love. So will I be. He is grace. So will I be. He lives in abundance which He shares with others.....so will I. He has destined me for a life of significance on a global scale.....solely for one purpose.....to show the world what is possible with the kid that made all the wrong choices....told he would never amount to anything....and written off by all.....

I refuse to live and die....nothing more than a great musician.....good organist.....good producer....good preacher....good friend....Good dad.....a good church member.....i was meant for more....so much more. The word christian means "Christ like". Its a cliche nowadays. A catch phrase. What it really means is to experience what Christ experienced here.

The Bible says in Matthew 5: 10-12

10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble."

Seems to me...I'm on the right course. Because I have reached my capacity for mediocrity. And the only ones upset are the ones my gifts are no longer availiable to. It's called sifting.....separating the wheat from the tares.
The ones that see my destiny applaud my growth and having been pushing me to move....and there's the other group.

Real talk....it might be time for you to take inventory and dare to be about the faith you've been singing and spewing but not living. Find out who's really about you reaching your destiny or about you reaching into your pocket to fill theirs.

Are you at your maximum capacity for mediocrity?

Happy singles awareness day

Today I'm not going be deep and socially relevent. Not going to be empowering and informative.  Today is going to be unedited and raw....

How I really feel about February 14th....Valentine's day. (Buckle up, I've got a new soapbox!)

First I'll address those who continue to believe that my broken engagement years ago left me bitter against women. Actually I'm far from that. All I have is daughters. Wouldn't be a good stance for a father of girls to be bitter against women. I'm honest with the fact that I trust men far more easily than I do women.

That is due to my experience that the men I've encountered are far more likely to admit and own their failures than women.

By in large, IN MY EXPERIENCE, men are more honest ABOUT THEMSELVES than women are. They just aren't likely to share that honest picture with women....but that's another post.

Along with christmas, thanksgiving and all of the rest of holidays...I really REALLY detest the feeling of being taken advantage of.

No holiday "pimps" the wallets of Americans like Valentine's day. I won't go through the disgusting origins of Valentine's Day and the church's sickening canonization of the celebration (I'll post the YouTube video below if you care to know the true origins). But the modern western treatment of the day boils down to this:

we (corporate america) need a way to recover quicker from the slow 1st quarter profits of the year. So let's create a holiday; condition the gullible western female who is starved for validation to believe that her value to her mate is solely dependant on the expression of "love" he displays on that holiday...and then let's give him all sorts of choices/opportunities to fork over their hard earned money we want and give him a way to avoid putting forth any effort and purchase her adoration.

Yup, the correct terminology is "pimped".

Western women are whored out by the florists, card companies, restaurants, hotels, clubs, chocolatiers, Victoria ' s secret, spas, salons, limo companies.....

And the western men pay corporate america for permission to romance the women they already have as wives and significant others.

Yup women.....Hallmark, godiva, whitmans, proflowers, victorias secret, and FTD are YOUR PIMPS!

And for one day, you husbands and boyfirends are just a "trick".

And February 15th, they kick you out of the corporate brothel to go home to your "john".

(Oops, is that Olivia pope on the curb again pulling up her panties?)

I, personally vow, if I ever marry...I will never let corporate America treat my beloved as a whore and a hooker once a year. We will never buy into paying 110% above retail for flowers, hotels, and the rest of that bologna. We will stick it to corporate America by celebrating our love the other 364 days a year.....at sale price....and pimp the corrupt system.

Now being single, I am celebrating the beautiful magnificent bliss of doing everything I want all day today! The TV is permanently stuck on ESPN....no oprah, no Gilmore girls, no lifetime....Spike tv and EPSN! No chocolate covered strawberries.....Just Pizza and Beer. Nachos. Steak and cheese subs. And I'll be taking that pedicure and manicure.....by a female...please and thank you! Hot stone massage....for me....oh wait, I just lay here, feel magnificent and it's never your turn?! Yippeee! And cap it all off with a lazy QUIET soak in a bubble filled jacuzzi! With Bach and Chopin playing in the background....no love songs...no trey songz....Keith sweat...Celine dion....actually beautiful music.

Now that's happy singles awareness day!

Now we will return you to your regularly scheduled frantic Valentine's Day malarky!

Here's the link to the truth about valentines day origin:

<a>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy4KweX4CjY&feature=youtube_gdata_player</a>

The Better Sex

       One of my magazine contributors published this article a few weeks ago and I thought it would be beneficial to those who don't subscribe to any of my publications. She shares her own personal experiences and benefits of Pilates which I am also embarking on due to my obsessive compulsion to have a great body well into my 90s.
 
(I provided scriptures for the uptight, medicretional religious types that avoid any conversation about sex or exercise like they avoid the gym...btw, I'm a christian and they irritate me too!)

Hebrews 13:4 - "Marriage [is] honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: "

1 Corinthians 6:19 - "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

1 Corinthians 7:4-14 (NKJV)
4 "The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.5 Do not deprive one another..."

The Better Sex Exercise

by Taylor Oakes

Pilates can rev your sex life. Many of the practice’s poses target the muscles women rely on between the sheets—hip flexors, glutes, inner and outer thighs, and core. Pilates strengthens these key spots, enhancing your endurance, stability, and flexibility, all of which help to control your body so you can find and maintain the positions that feel best.

I started doing pilates about 8 years ago. I started initially in hopes of combating the pain and misalignment from my scoliosis. I was young though and my mind definitely wasn’t super focused on my health and fitness – so I didn’t take it too seriously.

As I let my fitness slip, my back started to worsen. I couldn’t sleep at night & I never felt “straight”. I always joked around and told my friends I was squiggly…but it wasn’t far from the truth. It really hit me when it actually started effecting my sex life. My hips would be so out of line that certain movements would legitimately knock the wind out of me from the inside out.

And nothing is sexier than being doubled over in pain, trying not to throw up.

That year I really accepted that though my scoliosis didn’t require surgery, it was severe enough to change my day to day life, it’s life long….and I shouldn’t ignore it any more. So I stopped.

I’ve never been a huge fan of fitness, largely because of feeling “squiggly”. When your hips and shoulders and back aren’t lined up, everything feels wrong. Running feels like I’m skipping because I can feel a difference between landing on my left foot and my right. Lifting weights made me feel like my shoulders were going to fly off because of the hyper mobility in my joints. For a long time I had various personal trainers who would try and help me exercise traditionally – but they didn’t understand. Don’t get me wrong, they understood I had limitations – but didn’t understand that struggling to do flies with 5lb weights just wasn’t for me – my body needed something different.

I turned to focusing on pilates and 6 years later I’ve never looked back. I was able to go slow, but still get an incredible burn. The security in the movements and design of the equipment allowed me to build muscle I never though I could.

And as an added little bonus, it really improved my sex life. Not only am I pain free, but I’m strong. You see those people hanging from the machines that somewhat resemble medieval torture devices? Ya well…that translates.

I don’t say that as some sort of “flexibility” entendre (well..maybe a little) – but more so that your core is constantly working and strengthening – and so your pelvic floor is as well. And if you have no idea what that is or how it applies, lady you’ve got some googling to do.

“Where’s the freaking work out?”

Sorry, sorry…I rambled. Okay so not everyone has access to pilates reformers and cadilacs and the other crazy/awesome machines – but that doesn’t mean you can’t do these moves at home! So here are some fabulous at-home pilates exercises that will give you a great burn and actually improve your sex life.

Quick Definitions: Neutral Spine vs. Imprinted Spine

1) Shoulder Bridge

This is #1 on my list for a reason. It seems super simple, and it is, but also incredibly effective and versatile.
Lie on your back in neutral spine, with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Your legs are hip distance and parallel. Your arms are extended along your sides. Press the backs of your arms into the mat. Inhale: Press down through your feet to lengthen your spine and press you hips up. Come to a bridge position on your shoulders with your knees, hips and shoulders in one line. Exhale: and lower down – returning to neutral spine. That’s one rep. (Yes it does look like you’re humping the air. So if you feel slightly embarrassed – you’re probably doing it right)

2) One Legged Bridge

Following the same steps as above, laying in neutral spine, you will bring one leg up into a table top position. Keeping one foot planted on the floor and the other leg at 90 degrees, rise up into that bridge position on the inhale and lower down on the exhale. Repeat for both legs.

2b) One-Legged Bridge Modification

Following the same steps as above, laying in neutral spine, you will straighten one leg so that it is parallel to the floor. For added tension, place a ball between your knees and squeeze. Keeping one foot planted on the floor and the other fully extended, rise up into that bridge position on the inhale and lower down on the exhale. Repeat for both legs.

3) Hamstring Curl

Start by lying flat on your back with an exercise ball under your heels. Bridge your hips up and hold that position through the entire exercise. Flex your feet and dig your heels into the ball. Place your arms straight out to your side for support — don’t use them, though; they are just for support. Slowly roll the ball toward your body as you curl your heels. Keep your hips in the bridge position; don’t thrust them toward the ceiling as you do the move. Then slowly return to the start position (straight legs, hips bridged) to complete one rep

4) Straight Leg Bridge

Start by lying on your back with your feet on the ball. You want your legs to be straight and the ball to be under your heels. Inhale as you rock your pelvis towards your tailbone, and then exhale as you engage your lower abdomen and rock the pelvis towards the belly button. Then continue to lift the pelvis into the air one vertebra at a time until you are resting on your head neck and shoulders. Inhale at the top and then exhale as you lower your spine to the ground releasing each vertebra individually.

5) The Clam

Lie on one side with knees bent. Place your bottom hand underneath your head for support, and your top hand just in front of your chest. “Clamp” your feet together (like a clam – or a hinge) and slowly open and close your top knee while keeping your heels in contact. Focus on making sure the rest of your body remains completely still and stable.

6) Roll Ups

Lie with your legs straight, feet flexed, and arms extended above your chest. Keeping your arms straight, brace your core and slowly roll your shoulders and upper body off the ground, lifting one vertebra at a time, until you’re sitting up. Bring your chin to your chest and slowly roll back down to start. That’s one rep.

7) Teaser

This can be a more advanced move, depending on where you are with your overall fitness & core strength. So I’ve included three levels.

Beginner: Lie on your back with knees bent to a 90-degree angle & arms extended overhead. Tighten your abs as you inhale and lift arms up and over head. Exhale and swing arms forward. Pause at the top before exhaling and lowering into the original position. That’s one rep

Intermediate: Lie on your back with knees bent to a 90-degree angle and feet lifted. Tighten your abs as you inhale and lift arms up and over head. Exhale and swing arms forward, straightening legs so your body forms a V. If needed, put hands on the floor for support. Roll down slowly, bending knees and bringing arms overhead. Pause at the top before exhaling and lowering into the original position. For an added bonus, lower and lift your legs for 3 pulses while you are at the top before returning to the original position.

Advanced: Lie on your back with your arms and legs fully extended. Tighten your abs as you inhale, lifting your arms overhead and legs straight up simultaneously into that v sit. For an added bonus, lower and lift your legs for 3 pulses while you are at the top before returning to the original position. That’s one rep.

(this is the best picture I could find)

You can incorporate these moves into other workouts you’re doing, or you can combine them all together for a mini workout of their own. I’ve outlined one for you below.

Friday, February 21, 2014

I’ve been divorced four times, but homosexuals are the ones destroying marriage

Last night, someone emailed and asked me to write about the gay marriage case in Virginia. This morning, a woman from Wisconsin asked if I would blog about the gay marriage case in her state. A few readers in Utah have also requested that I chime in on the gay marriage fight there.

And so I was going to do just that. I sat down to type a scathing rant about gay marriage. I sat down to tell the world that gay marriage is the greatest threat to the sanctity of marriage.

But then I remembered this:

That’s a sign I saw on the side of the road a little while back. Divorce for sale! Only 129 dollars! Get ‘em while they’re hot!

And then I remembered an article I read last week about the new phenomenon of “divorce parties.” Divorced is the new single, the divorce party planner tells us.

And then I remembered another article claiming that the divorce rate is climbing because the economy is recovering. Now that things are getting a little better, we can finally splurge on that divorce we’ve always wanted!

And then I remembered that – ebbs and flows notwithstanding – there is one divorce every 13 seconds, or over 46,000 divorces a week in this country. And then I remembered that, although the “50 percent of marriages end in divorce” statistic can be misleading, we’re still in a situation where there are half as many divorces as there are marriages in a single year.

And then I remembered no-fault divorce. I remembered that marriage is the ONLY LEGAL CONTRACT A PERSON CAN BREAK WITHOUT THE OTHER PARTY’S CONSENT AND WITHOUT FACING ANY LEGAL REPERCUSSIONS.

Sorry to scream at you.

But I remembered that marriage has for decades been, from a legal perspective, the least meaningful, least stable, and least protected contract in existence, and I think this fact should be emphasized.

And then I remembered how many Christian churches gave up on marriage long ago, allowing their flock to divorce and remarry and divorce and remarry and divorce and remarry, and each time permitting the charade of “vows” to take place on their altars. And then I remembered that churches CAN lower the divorce rate simply by taking a consistent position on it — which is why practicing Catholics are significantly less likely to break up — but many refuse because they are cowards begging for the world’s approval.

And then I remembered that over 40 percent of America’s children are growing up without a father in the home. And then I remembered that close to half of all children will witness the breakdown of their parent’s marriage. Half of that half will also have the pleasure of watching a second marriage fall apart.

And then I remembered that more and more young people are opting out of marriage because the previous generation was so bad at it that they’ve scared their kids away from the institution entirely.

I remembered all of these things, and I decided to instead write about the most urgent threat to the sanctity of marriage.

Divorce.

Divorces are as common as flat tires, and they often happen for reasons nearly as frivolous.

The institution of marriage is crumbling beneath us; it’s under attack, it’s mortally wounded, it’s sprawled out on the pavement with bullet wounds in its back, coughing up blood and gasping for breath. And guess who did this? It wasn’t Perez Hilton or Elton John, I can tell you that.

This is the work of divorce.

I am an opponent of gay marriage, but we here in the “sanctity of marriage” camp are tragically too afraid to approach the thing that is destroying marriage faster than anything else ever could. Gay marriage removes from marriage its procreative characteristic, but rampant divorce takes away its permanent characteristic. It makes no sense to concentrate all of our energy on the former while all but ignoring the latter.

To make matters worse, some of the loudest mouth pieces for “traditional marriage” in media and politics are bigamists, adulterers, and men with two, three, or four ex-wives. It’s not that you can’t defend the sanctity of marriage when you have been divorced multiple times, it’s just that you have zero credibility on the subject.

If you beat and abuse your children so badly that they have to be removed from you, you could, I suppose, still complain if you found out that your kids are also being mistreated in their foster home. But your anger must first be directed at yourself, because it is YOUR FAULT that they are suffering in this way.

So whose fault is it that the institution of marriage is beaten and broken? I don’t think we want to contemplate that question, for fear that we might see ourselves in the answer.

Should laws be written to “defend marriage”? Sure, and let’s start with legislation to make divorces at least somewhat harder to obtain than a magazine subscription. How serious are we about this? Anyone up for a law to criminalize adultery? What about putting some restrictions on re-marriage?

There are certainly times when a couple has no choice but to go their separate ways. What else can you do in cases of serial abuse or serial adultery, or when one party simply abandons the other? But infidelity and abuse do not explain the majority of divorces in this country, and they are not the leading causes of break-ups. According to these “experts,” the top causes of divorce are a lack of individual identity, “getting into it for the wrong reasons,” and “becoming lost in the roles.” A survey done by the National Fatherhood Institute found lack of communication, and finances to be the leading culprits. An article in The Examiner also cites finances as the most potent divorce-fuel.

In other words, these days marriages can be blown apart by the slightest gust of wind, coming from any direction, and for any reason. Noticeably absent from all of these polls about the reasons for divorce: gay marriage.

That’s because gay marriage is not the biggest threat to marriage.

We are.

We are, when we vow on our very souls to stand by someone for the rest of our lives, until death do us part, only to let financial troubles and communication difficulties dissolve that union we forged before God. We are, when we forget about those Biblical readings we picked out for our wedding service:

My lover belongs to me and I to him.
He says to me:
“Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm;
For stern as death is love,
relentless as the nether world is devotion;
its flames are a blazing fire.
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away.”

For stern as death is love.

When we marry, we die. Our old selves die, and we are born anew into each other; into the unbreakable marital bond.

We are a threat to the sanctity of marriage when we let our selfishness fool us into thinking that our wedding vows weren’t that serious.

Indeed, despite popular sentiment, they were serious. They are serious. They’re as serious as death.

The struggle to protect marriage is also serious. It’s an important battle.

So maybe it’s time we actually start fighting it.

*NOTE. To answer your questions: no, I have not actually been divorced four times. I’ve been married once. The title was tongue-in-cheek. I was writing it from the perspective of the sorts of people who rant about the sanctity of marriage, yet have racked up multiple ex-spouses. Perhaps I should have been more clear about this. In any case, there it is. I appreciate your concern.