2020 Clarity

Having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision. 20/20 vision only indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance. Other important vision skills, including peripheral awareness or side vision, eye coordination, depth perception, focusing ability and color vision, contribute to your overall visual ability. (From https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/eye-and-vision-problems/glossary-of-eye-and-vision-conditions/visual-acuity)

Pick Your Grove

We do not get to choose our DNA. Our parents are who they are whether we like their life, or not. Even those who have been adopted; those kids didn't choose adoptive parents anymore than they chose their birth parents. We can't choose our cousins. We can't choose our siblings. We can't choose our aunts or uncles. We can attempt to sculpt our bodies, but we can't choose our body shape. We can't choose our skin pigment. We can choose our behavior and attitude, but we can't choose our personality. We can't choose our height. In these we are stuck, stuck, stuck.

There are so many things about the person in our skin that we have absolutely no control over. But there is something we have control over; which grove we live in. 

Natural trees have no choice where they're planted. They are utterly dependent on the farmer to know what ground and air is best suited for their successful growth and reproduction. But spiritual trees are almost exclusively their own farmer.

We are spiritual trees. We decide where we are planted. God only plants us with our permission. Even in His Supreme status, in this He chooses the role of assistant. He turns all power of choice over to us. I've seen many, many tree plantings in my time of living for God. I've seen when people realize for the first time that God is loving and generous, and has our best interests at heart. In relief they joyfully surrender all to Him, and in doing so they give him permission to plant them wherever He sees best. But over time I've seen some gradually stop seeking His sky for His rain of growth. In their stagnant state (brought about by their detachment from Him) they become dissatisfied with where He planted them, and they start looking for another habitat, hoping to respark their growth. 

I've seen other trees be given marching orders. God himself says to move from the place He personally planted them. God sends trees on an Abrahamic journey, a walk of faith into new territory. Lest we think this is some magical key to happiness, let me warn you with this insight; I've never seen a tree in this situation be glad about this move. When trees are transplanting from church to church, ministry to ministry, job to job, happy and psyched about the transitions, that is a carnal move, not a God-ordained move. Trees to whom The Spirit is being called to move generally have the wisdom to loath the prospect. They're like Christ, both led and driven into the new place.

Whether we transplant because God pushed us, or because we're carnally seeking greener pastures, when we replant ourselves we replant with other trees. We try to seek out our kind. But in our uprooting we can't be sure what we're getting ourselves into. I've never seen a tree eat another tree's fruit. So, while an orange tree may find a grove of orange trees and determine, "We're all orange trees! This is the perfect place for me!" You don't know if those oranges are good or bad fruit, sweet and nutritious, or bitter and poisonous.

How can you tell a Good Fruit tree from a Bad Fruit tree when you're not partaking of the fruit? 

Answer: You can tell by who the tree attracts.

If you find yourself in a position to need to choose a grove, choose a grove that attracts the pure in heart. The pure in heart will not settle for bitter fruit. They bring their children to good fruit. They offer their spouses good fruit. They present to their friends good fruit. And these people WORK to access the good fruit. They may have to pay a price to enter the grove. They may have to ask the grove keeper's permission to pick the fruit. They may have to travel far to be a recipient of the good fruit. Those who want the best know there's a price to pay to have it. And you'll know a Good Fruit tree by the caretaker. How involved is God in the daily care of that grove? Good Fruit trees relentlessly ask The Master to prune, fertilize, water, and weed. The more involved the tree asks The Master to be, the sweeter the fruit will be. 

On the other side of the spectrum is bad fruit. These groves are left unattended. While there may be an owner of the grove, it's not worth the investment of hiring workers to keep the area weed free. It's not worth the cost of pesticides to keep the place pest free. Besides, these Bad Fruit trees reject all intervention anyway. It's on the backside of nowhere, out of sight, out of mind. Therefore nobody has to pay to access that fruit. Bitter Fruit groves attract the derelict, the thief, the irresponsible. Bad Fruit trees attract lazy people who are unwilling to pay for Good Fruit, therefore they must take Bad Fruit. Also, as mentioned before, Bad Fruit trees have very little aptitude to surrender to The Master, if at all. They refuse pruning, they do not seek care, they don't want anyone caring about the weeds surrounding and the bugs invading. Their "Keep Out" signs are posted for the eyes of The Master.

Don't be deceived into having pity on these Bad Fruit trees. They KNOW they're producing bitter fruit, and they refuse to put themselves in any situation to change that outcome. There is a way to alter one's fruit production from bitter to sweet. It's by a process called grafting. Only The Master can do the grafting. A Bitter Fruit tree must surrender to God who will uproot and replant the tree in the best environment for the tree. Then he grafts a part of himself into the tree. If that tree will remain, it will begin to produce the sweetest of fruit. But if that tree is arrogant and prideful, they will not surrender to this process. They remain a Bad Fruit tree and your folly to help is more prideful than helpful. These, "I can help" attempts are truly all about "Me, Myself, and I." 

"I'm the one with insight to help."

"I'm more loving than others."

"I'm going to prove my power."

I point this out because I've seen trees in transit see a grove of bitter trees and feel an undeserved pity. I've seen well-intentioned (howbeit uncounseled) trees believe the Bitter Fruit tree "need" their presence and sympathy. They plant themselves among the Bad Fruit trees, then are forced to endure what The Master never intended them to endure. They reap the hazards of being with trees visited only by thieves who rape and pillage their branches with no thought of care or another season's reproduction. 

Meanwhile, Good Fruit trees are enjoying the joy and laughter of those whom they are generously supplying with Good Fruit. Aware that The Master is purposefully cultivating the ability to reproduce more Good Fruit again the next season. 

You get to choose which grove you plant yourself in. 

Surround yourself with good-tree folks to keep from eating bitter fruit behavior.

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.”

Luke 6:43 NIV

Love Affair with "1"

If you follow me on social media, you'll know I love, "1." Not one person. The number, "1." Each and every month I get to schmooze with, "1."

After 30, sometimes 31, even the rare 28 days, we get to start over with, "1!" It's a most fantastic thing! We grind, and toil, and sweat, and labor... We go two-steps-forward, one-step-back. We berate ourselves. We kick ourselves back into gear. All along, while we are striving to do our best, the month's digits develops hooks, like those of "3." "5" even develops a spear-like line at its head, ready to hook and stab! Have you ever seen a more scary-looking number than "5?!" But the onslaught of the numeric army isn't done. Those terrorist numbers recruit numbers, and at exactly ten days all digits double-up on us! But just when the month is about to swallow us in a suffocating black hole...

That beautiful, simple, single line, with his fedora-clad head-nod, (we will forgive his feet that are too large) comes swooping in, like superman, to rescue. And I swoon.

Bringing his magic cape to give me a clean slate. Hollering to all the powers that be, "I call doooo overrrrrr!" The atmosphere reverberates with titilating excitement as "1" pulls out his magic wand and draws me a brand new starting line! He's so kind, he even escorts me through some of those double-digit daunting days. Stoically standing there beside the "2," and "5," even "7," saying, "Come on through. I'm here with and for you. You can get through this."

And my crush's powers are never so great and magical as they are every New Year's Eve. Not only does "1" declare a brand new month, but a BRAND NEW YEAR! 

As I delight in my sweetheart, "1," I ask that we remember to never, never, never give up, regardless of where we are in the month, or year. In fact (in case you were about to Baker Act me) "1" is a figment of my imagination. I made him up to better enjoy my conveyance of this certain truth: YOU are the master of "do over." God makes it possible. But YOU have to do it. 

As I complete this fun essay at 2:09pm, 12/31/2015, I have already read about the New Year occurance that is past tense in Asia. I felt no vibrations in the atmosphere as they began their new year. There's literally NOTHING magical about it. It's an act of faith to declare the new year better than the last. An act we should exhibit. 

Let Christ guide you this new year. Make falling at his feet in prayer your reaction to every difficulty. Prioritize living life according to His game plane in scripture.

In Him we have newness of life, and a happy new year. 

Welcome, 2016!

(And I joyfully welcome all appearances of my hero, "1.") 

It's All About the Maintenance

Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. (Exodus 30:7 NLT)

My Epic Fail
  Nissan Quest-Thousands in repairs
  Kia Optima
Simple maintenance was left undone.
  The difference in the two vehicles;
      One was created badly.
      One was created perfectly, but needed simple maintenance.

Maintain
1. to continue or retain; keep in existence
2. to keep in proper or good condition to maintain a building
3. to support a style of living the money maintained us for a month
4. (takes a clause as object) to state or assert he maintained that Talbot was wrong
5. to defend against contradiction; uphold she maintained her innocence
6. to defend against physical attack
[from Old French maintenir, ultimately from Latin manū tenēre to hold in the hand]

Since Adam and Eve's failure in the garden, every human was reproduced after their kind.
  We're like my old Nissan Quest, CREATED WITH A GLITCH called,"born in sin, shaped in iniquity."
Romans 3:23 (KJV)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Psalms 51:5 (KJV)
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

  We get a chance to be A NEW CREATION by obeying the Gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection.
John 3:7 (KJV)
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Galatians 6:15 (KJV)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

We receive POWER when we are filled with (therefore, born of) the Holy Spirit of God!
  Power to be witnesses for Christ.
  Power to become higher quality human beings than our DNA allows.
  Power to rise out of depression, oppressions and addictions.
  Power to fulfill the law of Christ and properly love others.
     INDEED, I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST!
          Get a grip on my parenting!
          Lose weight!
          Improve my education!
          Reach my goals!

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE

We set goals and resolve to get certain things under control at the on-set of a new year...
We determine some higher spiritual disciplines to live by...
We start the regimes of diet and exercise...
  When we let day after day go by without keeping up with our intentions we start feeling like a failure.

But you're NOT a failure; it's a simple matter of maintenance.
  Amusement parks that keep up with maintenance VS amusement parks that do not.

MAINTAIN YOUR FAITH IN JESUS 
This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. (Revelation 14:12 NLT)

MAINTAIN YOUR INTEGRITY 
...He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” (Job 2:3 NLT)

MAINTAIN PEACE 
...Search for peace, and work to maintain it. (Psalms 34:14 & 1 Peter 3:11)

MAINTAIN A CLEAR CONSCIENCE ...I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people. (Acts 24:16 NLT)
[to exercise (one's) self, take pains, labour, strive]

MAINTAIN THE HOUSE OF GOD 
...Moses, the servant of the Lord, levied this tax on the community of Israel in order to maintain the Tabernacle of the Covenant. ” (2 Chronicles 24:6 NLT)

MAINTAIN YOUR TESTIMONY
...all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. (Revelation 12:17 NLT)

USE WHAT YOU LEARNED IN YOUR BATTLES TO MAINTAIN
These men dedicated some of the plunder they had gained in battle to maintain the house of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 26:27 NLT)

Amusement parks that keep up with maintenance VS amusement parks that do not.
  When people die in an amusement park, they FIX THE PROBLEM.

Maintain integrity.
Maintain your goalsetting list.
Maintain your  thinking.
Maintain your marriage, your children. 
Maintain your spiritual life.
Maintain your education.
Maintain your spiritual connection with God.
Maintain your hope.
Maintain your health.

You're not a loser if paint starts peeling, or if rides need oiling, or if garden beds need weeding...

Life simply causes wear and tear.
So don't cry if your paint fades, or chips.
Don't consider yourself a loser because of the natural force of wear and tear IN life. 

SIMPLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

When you become aware of the noticeable wear and tear, fix it!

You are your own maintenance person.
So, maintain it!


Sent from my iPhone

Getting In the Game For the New Year

As I'm winding down this year and pressing into the new one I am, of course, thinking about resolutions. That word is spoken puts one image into my head, a piece of paper with about four things on it. Most of us could actually write down our resolutions and blindly swap with another person in town and it'd probably end up being the same list in different handwriting! Because we all want to lose weight, make more money, and spend more time _____. (You fill in the blank.)

The problem with that list is that it's too vague. And that's the very same reason we end a year having not completed one of the things on our list. And then we make a list again for the new year and the same words are on it.

If I gave you a piece of paper that said, "Come to my house. Get the coconut oil. Put the coconut oil in my car." You might be very willing to do these things, but it's not going to take you very long at all to realize that being "willing" doesn't get the job done.

Why? It's too vague.

Very few people reading this blog will know how to get to my house. Not even my children who live in my house realize I have coconut oil. They wouldn't kno if it's above the stove, in the pantry, or because of all my homemade facial concoctions, if it's under my bathroom sink! And finding my car would b even more difficult since it tends to be all over town!

And THAT'S why most "New Year Resolutions" do not make it past the first week. Because so many people usually have "lose weight" at the top of their resolutions list, we're going to use "lose weight" as the example throughout this blog. But understand that ANYTHING (make more money, spend more time with the kids, etc.) can apply with these same principles.

The first step toward successfully completing your desires for the new year is to change your wording from "resolution" to "game." We understand that word better because we're a culture of sports fanatics. We know that to be an NFL player you've got to be serious about "being in the game". Nonchalant, overweight uncles throwing a football on Thanksgiving do not REALLY get in "the game". They merely watch those who are. So now you're going to get in the game! The game is called "weight loss." It's going to be a great game and you are going to win because you're going to KNOW HOW to play the game!

Your first objective in playing the game is knowing your GOAL.

Now u need to think like a football player who has a goal called an "end line" or a "touchdown line." So your "goal" is not to "lose weight." Thats the name of the game. Your GOAL is determined by deciding how much weight you want to lose. You need to be EXACT. How you come to this conclusion is up to you. Do you want to lose enough weight to be at your proper BMI? Or do you want to lose a number of pounds suggested by a doctor? Your GOAL is the final number of pounds you wish to drop.

So now you know your GAME is "to lose weight", and your GOAL is an exact, final number of pounds.

Now you need to picture a football field. It's green with periodic white lines drawn all the way across it. The player knows the GOAL is the touchdown line. But he's got incremental goals. Since I don't know a THING about football I found this information on www.Dummies.com; "White lines on a football field are critical to playing the game. By knowing what yard lines, hash lines, and end lines represent, you’ll have an easier time following the game."

I couldn't have said it better myself! If your GOAL is to lose forty pounds then your yard lines, hash lines, and end lines are your incremental goals. That's where you lose your forty pounds in eight pound segments. (Or whatever you set up as your incremental goals.)

Let's recap, you now know your GAME is "to lose weight", and your GOAL is an exact, final number of pounds. Your yard lines are incremental goals.

Let's wrap up by talking about our GAME PLAN. If just saying, "I'm going to reach my goal!" was all it took to win, then I wouldn't have needed to share my opinions and ideas about how to succeed. No game is won just by wanting to, or by knowing the goals. There has to be a GAME PLAN that includes various PLAYS. These plays are thought about, demonstrated on a white board, practiced, written on little pieces of paper and velcroed to players biceps. And having one game plan isn't enough. There are many and during the course of a game the players have to try different plans as they move their way from yard line to yard line.

This is most definitely true in the weight loss game! Your going to start with a game plan of what type of diet will best suit you. When a player discovers a particular play isn't working he doesn't throw up his hands, give up on the whole game and go sit in the stands to eat a hot dog! I dare say that the nature of life will dictate that some of your original PLAYS won't work. Don't get frustrated because the PLAY worked so good for a friend, or a celebrity that you take yourself out of the game! If you find yourself failing at THAT particular play simply call a time out, regroup, look for a different play, and then continue the game!

I'm going to throw out a bunch of "Don'ts" here;
Don't be vague.
Don't bit off more than you can chew & swallow.
Don't give up!

And I'll wrap up with these "Do's";
Do have a specific, final GOAL.
Do set up incremental YARD LINES.
Do have a GAME PLAN that includes the option of any PLAY needed for the moment.

The only thing not mentioned in this method of goal achieving is setting dates. I didn't talk about setting deadlines because we've been using weight loss as an example. And while many people definitely do use deadlines in losing weight, it wouldn't have been prudent for me to do so.

I had a weight loss goal of forty pounds that I'm proud to say I met... Over the course of three years! First of all, if I'd started the game realizing it'd be a three YEAR journey I don't think I'd have been able to handle that huge time frame. Secondly, weight loss is very different from person to person. Research proves speedy weight loss is neither healthy nor lasting. So where traditional goal setting teaches to set dates at the incremental goal lines, & on other GAMES I do suggest that you set dates. When it comes to weight loss I do not suggest it.

But that GAME convo is for another season!