focus

It seems that life just seems to speed along and rather than taking time to wonder, observe, reflect or just pause or even stop, we continue to cruise along never really aware of what we’ve missed along the way. And when we do finally stop, we see a world full of rubble, breaking in many places - our connection to the earth, relationships with others and our spiritual lives - needing healing.

The media continually informs us at every moment we turn on the news that catastrophe is emminent from climate change, wars, poverty to sickness and despair. That’s our external world, but what about our inner, deeper selves?

The quiet, contemplative moments in the day are the ones when we feel the love. A simple act of kindness, a warm smile, the sun on the colored leaves are all touches from God. It’s the pause when we readjust the lens and focus on what’s really important. We shouldn’t just be seeking false gods and loving delusions; rushing frantically through the day and living fearfully in anticipation of what we believe from a newscaster, a politician or the neighborhood gossip.

As humans, we were created by God to glorify God. We can see the world He created and His eternal power and divine nature all around us - in a sunset, majesty of a mountain, power of a volcano, and fierceness of a storm. Those things should make it our desire to glorify the worthiness of God. All of His creation deserves the praise where it is due—to the creator Himself.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”  Revelation 4:11

Perhaps we should be picking up the bible and receiving the message it offers. We should be listening to the voice of God. After we widen the lens, the vision becomes clearer and a deeper interior is revealed - convicting us to change - to pause - to stop. Slow the rush and rest and reflect. Change the pace.

“In peace I will lie down and sleep for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

watashiato

(n) curiosity about the impact you’ve had on the lives of the people you know.

We may never know how a kind word, a sincere smile or a statement of wisdom has influenced the life of another human being. Years ago, Max Lucado wrote a book called “How Happiness Happens”. He begins with the true story about ninety-two-year-old Johnny Barnes who would arrive at the edge of a traffic circle to wave at people from 4:00 until 10:00 in the morning.

He wasn’t looking for fame, money or food and he wasn’t part of a protest or picket line. He was simply making people smile.

He wears a straw hat and a salty beard. His eyes are bright, teeth white, and skin leathery and dark. The years have bent his back and slowed his step. But they haven’t siphoned his joy. He waves with both hands extended in front of him. His wrists turn from side to side as if he were adjusting the volume on a soundboard. He pulls back his right hand to retrieve a kiss and blow it in the direction of a taxi driver or commuter.

“I love you!” he shouts. “I’ll love you forever!” “Hello, there, darlin’. I love you!”

And they love him! Bermudans call him Mr. Happy Man. They route their morning commute to see him. If Johnny’s not standing in his spot, people call the radio station to check on him. If he happens to miss acknowledging some commuters, they often circle the roundabout until he waves at them. One morning a cranky woman was determined not to make eye contact with him. She wanted to wallow in her bad mood. But she ended up looking his way. When he smiled, she smiled.

Another sour attitude bit the dust.

Johnny’s philosophy is simple. “We human beings gotta learn how to love one another. One of the greatest joys that can come to an individual is when you are doing something and helping others.”

Wouldn’t you love to meet a person like him?

Better still, wouldn’t you like to be like him?”

In 2011, a documentary film was made called, “Mr Happy Man”. A group of businessmen erected a life-size bronze statue and Johnny’s impact continues to inspire others and make people smile.

Click on this link to watch the Documentary Mr Happy Man. You will simply love it. https://theshineblog.com/2021/04/30/mr-happy-man-the-man-who-was-positively-contagious/

What are you doing in your daily life to have an impact on the people you know?

A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

beauty

There is beauty in a life. View black and white photos of elderly people where their faces mark the decisions they have made in their lives. Listen to singers reciting verses for the crowds and letting their tongues be like the pen of a gifted writer as words float on the air to eager ears. There are many soulful matters swirling around these days and because life is fleeting, we are to absorb with our eyes, soak up the music and let beauty wash over us as we ride the tides of change ~ especially in our world today.

The ugliness gets in the way of the beauty. Maybe we need a daily spiritual purging. When someone beats a rug, the blows are not against the rug, but against the dust in it. Rumi It’s when God walks through the rooms of our lives and shines the light on the messes - the dishes in the sink, clothes strewn on the bedroom floor and tufts of hair in the shower. Something has to change - the dirt needs to go. Evil creeps around sniffing at the air, messing things up and searching for a new victim. We have forgotten Eden, left it in the distant past and now live in our present paradise with our sagging couches, cheap idols and fences that separate us.

But when one sees the beauty that God sees, we can shine our radiant lights. Those who are blinded or get uncomfortable with those of us who shine too brightly, have shut themselves off from the Divine and closed themselves to the heavenly realms. They are concerned about self, ego and pleasures of the now. And where’s the beauty in forgetting that we are children of the Light made to shine God’s love through us? It’s time to pull out the prayer mats, ask forgiveness from the Jesus who is so readily accessible and transform the inner rooms and clean up our acts. It’s time to act like a believer!

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Techno

Our world is quite amazing. We have come to believe that we hold the whole universe in the palm of our hands with our technology and smart phones. The irony of it all is that, as Tony Reinke says, “using our cell phones is the desire to be alone in public and never alone in seclusion.” How ironic.

There is an urgency from the crowd to “like” and “unlike”; to comment and opinionize; to follow the path of insanity by believing that we can fix things or become enlightened and solve the world’s problems using the object in our hands at the touch of a screen. When really, all we need is a touch from God.

In the Bible there were four prophets who were touched by God for different reasons. Sometimes God spoke a word and people were changed. Sometimes He purposefully touched them, like Isaiah. Then one of the seraphim took a live coal from the altar with tongs and placed it on Isaiah's mouth, and Isaiah was purged of his sin (Isaiah 6:5-7) to speak on behalf of God. God told Jeremiah, “You shall go, and you shall say what I tell you" (Jeremiah 1: 7). Ezekiel was told to eat and digest a scroll that was handed to him. He ate the scroll that tasted as sweet as honey, according to Ezekiel 3:3. Lastly, Daniel served God and obeyed Him and God touched his life.

Consider a loaf of bread and fish that is a hungry man’s meal; but in Jesus’ hands, 5,000 were fed. Think about a staff in a walker’s hand to ward off barking dogs, but a staff in Moses’ hands parted the Red Sea. A sling shot is a toy in a boy’s hands, but it was a weapon that felled a giant in David’s hand.

Technology in our hands is an amazing resource and like all things; can be used for goodness or evil. The bible also talks about the many times that Satan continues to replicate God’s design for our world but we are God’s creation and God is the potter. God is to be glorified.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8

price

Recently, people have noted that the price has not been right! Our inflation continues to rise, groceries cost more and they “just don’t make things to last like they used to” is an expression still spoken today.

Thinking back over a hundred years ago, if you dreamed of owning a new house, it would have cost approximately $6,296. A dozen eggs cost 47 cents, a pound of round steak cost 40 cents and three pounds of macaroni cost 25 cents. A haircut for ladies was $5 and trip to the movies was 15 cents which didn’t include the candy bar or popcorn. A vinyl record was entertainment back in the 1920’s which was about a dollar. Prices have certainly gone up!

It seems as if we are continuously paying a price. Our flesh wants the easy way. The world wants us to conform. Satan wants us to fail. It seems as if the price never decreases because everytime you succeed at something, the next challenge gets more difficult but God never promised life would be easy. He promised peace (John 14:27), power (Matthew 28: 19-20) and inner satisfaction (John 7:37-38).

If something is worthwhile, then there is probably a higher price to pay. Jesus told us, “Strive to enter in at the narrow gate because the road to destruction is easy and broad, most people choose the path of least resistance. Choose the straight and narrow gate which few enter.” (Matthew 7: 13-14)

We all have different crosses to bear and we don’t all pay the same price, but Even Bruce Springsteen talks about the journey of life when he said that “A time comes when you need to stop waiting for the man you want to be and become the man you want to be.” Perhaps it’s time to consider the highest price that was paid. Jesus died on a cross and paid the ultimate price for our sins so that we can have eternal life with him. That’s reason to celebrate! That’s a reason to be the person God created us to be. The price is right!

shift

Ah summer! One adventure leading to another when lazy days slip by like clouds floating dreamily across the sky. Compared to the duldrum days of winter with snow covered streets and sidewalks and ploughs scraping parking lots, there are early risings and barefoot in the grass days. Winter bundles up in layers to keep frostbites at bay where minutes get marked by the dark mornings and equally dark nights. Oh to keep you here so much longer O summer with your sizzling sun, river rapids and backyard barbeques, mountain hikes and dips in the lake.

But you skimper away as fall prods slowly into the season, stepping on your delicate toes. You dash off too quickly but stop to survey the changing landscape with frosty windows, colored leaves and icy films on the pond. Gusty winds sway the backs of the tree trunks and nature begins to prepare for a change. Honking geese, crunching leaves and yellow school buses fill with exuberant faces as they start another calendar year. We miss you already dear summer!

And so, another holiday filled, lazy, hazy days of summer come to an end once more. We shift our focus and march into the time of bells and studies, school supplies and schedules. It’s a process. That’s what God is doing with us. Refining, honing, crafting, molding and making us more like Him. Shift from the me to Him; from the oneness to the unity; from the inactivity and relaxation to the “let’s get moving” in the direction He wants us to go.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Happy September!